i<    "^^ 


B52423 
.2.M99 


XJirrJ.ANO   /AVERS 


Division  I£)S2,42.:j 
Section.  2..M'^^ 


Cbe  Boy  3e$u$ 


The  Boy  Jesus 


De  Boy  Je$u$ 


By  y 

CDe  Re^j,  Cortland  myers,  D.  D. 

Author  of 
'"'  Making  a  Life,"  "  The  New  Evangelism  " 
"Why  Men  Do  Not  Go  to  Church,"  etc. 


Pbilaaclpbia 

Cbe  Griffitb  $  Rowland  Press 

Boston       new  York       Cbicaso       StCouis 
JItlanta  Dallas 


Copyright  1908  by  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society 


PubHshed  February,  1908 


Ifrom  tbe  Sodetie's  own  preas 


TO 

MY    BOY 


Cortland  IDvcrs,  Jr. 

AT     WHOSE    REQUEST     THIS     BOOK 
WAS    MADE 


THE  AUTHOR 


Contents 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Real  Boy 9 

II.  Where  He  Lived 13 

III.  In  School 18 

IV.  On  the  Playground 24 

V.  Going  to  Church 30 

VI.   Learning  His  Trade .37 

VII.,  In  His  Home 44 

VIII.   Facing  Temptation 51 

IX.   Living  the  Truth      57 

X.   Helping  Others 64 

XI.   Birds  and  Flowers 70 

XII.    "  This  IS  My  Beloved  Son  " ']^ 


Cist  of  Illustrations 

Trom  Tamou$  Paintings  ^ 

Page 

The  Boy  Jesus Frontispiece 

Nazareth — Where  Jesus  Lived i6 

Jesus  in  School ip 

Jesus  and  John 26 

Jesus  Among  the  Doctors S3 

Jesus  in  His  Workshop 42 

Jewish  Homes  Like  Jesus'  Home 44 

Jesus  Facing   Temptation 53 

Jesus  by  the  Old  Well 58 

Jesus  Helping  Others 66 

Jesus  in  the  Fields 70 

The  Baptism  of  Jesus 80 


Zhc  Bo^  5eeu6 


IF 

Ube  IReal  Boie 

ESUS  was  a  real  boy.  He  lived  in  the 
boy's  world,  and  the  boy's  kind  of  life. 
He  looked  through  the  eyes  of  a  boy. 
He  ran  with  the  feet  of  a  boy.  He 
threw  with  the  arm  of  a  boy.  He 
heard  just  as  other  boys  hear,  and  felt 
just  as  other  boys  feel.  He  was  a  genuine  boy — a  per- 
fect boy,  but  a  boy,  the  best-looking,  feeling,  speaking, 
acting  boy  the  world  ever  saw — just  the  kind  of  a  boy 
whom  every  other  boy  at  his  best  would  want  to  be 
like.  He  grew  from  a  little  child  slowly  up  into  a  man, 
the  same  as  other  boys  grow,  and  he  learned  things  in 
the  way  in  which  every  boy  learns  them.  He  grew  in 
size  and  wisdom  and  in  favor  with  God  and  men.  The 
Bible  thought  that  was  enough  to  say  about  him,  and 
That  w^ould  be  the  greatest  thing 

9 


it  was  a  great  deal. 


lo  ^be  Boi5  3e0U0 

to  say  about  any  one.  I  wonder  if  any  boy  could  not 
have  that  said  about  him  if  he  tried  hard  to  be  a  boy 
such  as  Jesus  was. 

When  Jesus  came  into  our  world,  there  were  some 
things  which  marked  him  as  more  than  a  boy,  but  these 
things  did  not  take  him  out  of  the  boy's  life.  He  was 
born  under  that  brilliant,  dazzling  star  of  Bethlehem, 
and  all  the  prophets  were  interested  in  his  coming  to 
the  earth.  The  wise  men  came  to  the  cradle  to  tell 
that  God  was  in  his  life.  The  angels  came  from  the 
skies  with  their  holy  message  that  Jesus  was  to  be 
the  world's  Saviour  and  Lord.  He  came  from  heaven, 
and  lived  the  life  of  a  boy,  and  then  of  a  man,  just  to 
show  us  what  God  was  like,  and  that  he  was  willing  to 
die  to  save  us ;  but  all  this  did  not  change  his  boy  life. 

Some  people  attempted  long  after  he  had  gone  back 
to  heaven  to  make  his  boyhood  days  strange  and  unlike 
the  life  of  others.  They  said  he  was  playing  with  some 
other  boys  one  day,  and  they  were  making  birds  out  of 
clay,  that  is  things  which  they  called  birds,  but  proba- 
bly did  not  look  much  like  these  little  singers,  and  while 
Jesus  and  the  others  were  making  them  and  fixing 
them  on  a  board  to  dry,  suddenly  he  touched  them,  and 
these  imaginary  birds  moved  and  began  to  sing  and 
raised  their  wings  and  flew  away.  Another  time  they 
said  he  went  into  a  dyer's  shop  and  took  the  clothes 
lying  on  his  counter  and  threw  them  into  the  fire,  and 
after  the  dyer  became  angry  and  threatened  him,  he 


Zhc  IRcal  3Bo^  II 

just  turned  toward  the  burning  clothes  and  made  a 
motion  with  his  hand,  and  brought  the  clothes  out  of 
the  flames  all  dyed  in  the  color  their  owner  wished. 
They  also  said  he  was  one  day  in  his  father's  carpenter 
shop,  and  saw  a  throne  for  the  king  of  Jerusalem  on 
which  his  father  had  been  working  for  two  years. 
Now  they  found  that  it  was  two  spans  too  short.  He 
motioned  to  his  father  and  took  hold  of  one  side  while 
his  father  took  hold  of  the  other  side  and  they  easily 
pulled  it  to  the  right  size.  There  is  another  of  these 
strange  stories  which  tells  how  one  day  another  boy 
was  hunting  for  partridge  eggs,  and  out  of  the  nest 
came  a  serpent's  head,  and  its  poisonous  fangs  pierced 
his  hand.  He  screamed  with  fright  and  pain  and  they 
carried  him  to  his  home.  His  friends  carried  him  to 
Jesus.  The  boy  Jesus  then  said,  "  Take  us  back  to  the 
nest  where  he  was  bitten,"  and  they  did.  When  they 
came  to  the  place  Jesus  commanded  the  snake  to  come 
out  of  its  nest  and  with  its  own  mouth  draw  forth  the 
poison  from  the  wound.  One  day  they  said  he  was 
playing  on  the  housetop  with  some  other  children 
when  one  of  them  w^as  shoved  from  the  roof  and  fell 
to  the  ground  and  died.  Some  of  the  other  boys  said 
Jesus  did  it.  And  then  the  boy  Christ  said,  "  Charge 
not  me  with  the  crime,  but  let  us  leave  it  to  the  dead 
child  to  say  who  did  it,"  and  then  Jesus  said,  "  Zeimi- 
neus,  Zeimineus,  who  threw^  thee  down  from  the  house- 
top? "    Then  the  dead  boy  said,  "  Not  thee,  but  such  a 


12  ^be  Bo^  3e0U0 

one  did,"  and  all  the  people  looked  in  amazement,  and 
charged  the  other  boy  with  the  crime. 

All  these  stories  do  not  sound  like  his  boy  life,  and 
the  Bible  does  not  tell  anything  of  them.  If  they  were 
true  it  would  have  said  something  about  it,  but  God 
wanted  us  to  know  his  real  life,  just  as  it  was,  and 
just  the  life  the  true  boy  lived.  We  do  not  want  to 
take  him  away  from  the  boyhood  days  with  all  their 
growth  and  goodness.  Anyway,  we  are  very  sure  of 
this,  that  Jesus  was  a  boy,  and  the  kind  of  boy  whom 
every  other  boy  must  admire.  He  knows  now  just 
how  to  sympathize  with  boys  and  help  them,  because 
he  was  one  of  them.  He  knows  just  what  boys  like. 
Blessed  is  the  boy  who  knows  what  Jesus  likes,  and 
tries  his  level  best  to  live  that  kind  of  life. 


ifir 

mbcxc  Me  Xiveb 

ESUS  lived  among  the  hills.  Nazareth 
was  like  a  clear,  white,  sparkling  dia- 
mond, set  in  the  circle  of  the  moun- 
tains. It  was  just  beyond  the  edge 
of  a  beautiful  plain,  which  was  al- 
ways covered  with  the  richest  of  the 
harvest  and  the  orchard.  The  village  overlooked  this 
great  garden.  The  roadway  which  came  out  of  the 
level  country  reached  Nazareth  by  a  narrow,  steep, 
and  rough  mountain  path,  over  which  they  had  to 
bring  all  their  grain  and  fruits  on  the  backs  of  camels 
and  mules  or  their  own  backs.  This  was  a  very  difficult 
task,  but  the  traveler  who  climbs  this  same  hill  road 
almost  forgets  how  hard  it  is  in  the  first  sight  of  the 
place  where  Jesus  lived  as  a  boy.  So  steep  and  dan- 
gerous is  the  narrow  roadway,  that  some  travelers  fall 
off  of  their  horses  and  injure  themselves  in  the  fall 
on  the  rocks,  and  frighten  their  friends  because  of  the 
danger  on  the  edge  of  the  precipice.  Nazareth  is  the 
best  of  all  the  towns  now  in  Palestine.     Its  location 

13 


H  ZTbe  IBo^  3e0U0 

has  always  been  the  best.     It  has  just  nestled  among 
the  hills  all  these  years  like  a  bird  in  its  nest. 

Who  would  not  be  anxious  to  see  this  place  where 
the  boy  Jesus  lived  ?  Who  would  not  be  happy  to  look 
on  some  of  the  very  same  things  he  looked  upon  and 
lived  among.  He  walked  over  the  same  roads  and 
played  on  the  same  hills  and  drank  from  the  same 
stream  and  looked  at  the  same  stars,  and  many  other 
things  are  now  just  as  they  were  when  he  was  there. 
Even  the  manner  of  life  has  changed  very  little,  and 
some  of  it  not  at  all.  To  stand  on  that  side-hill,  or  to 
climb  to  the  top  of  one  of  the  high  hills  and  look  out 
over  that  fertile  plain  and  the  other  mountains  must 
have  been  a  part  of  his  joy.  The  slopes  were  all  covered 
with  green  grass  and  many  kinds  of  flowers  with  many 
colors,  red  and  pink  and  white  and  yellow  and  blue 
flowers,  rockrose,  lily  of  the  field,  red  tulip,  orchids, 
wild  geraniums,  and  a  great  quantity  of  Palestine 
golden  flower,  odd  and  beautiful  plants  in  abundance, 
and  some  of  our  own  kinds  of  flowers.  Jesus  picked 
our  carnations  and  others  which  you  have  made  into 
a  bouquet.  Then  he  saw  the  great  valley  all  divided 
into  small  fields,  with  fences  of  cacti  and  stones  to 
mark  the  line,  not  like  great  farms  and  fields,  but 
more  like  gardens.  He  could  look  out  of  his  home 
and  see  the  streets  rise  in  terraces  on  the  hillside.  He 
could  see  the  flat-roofed  houses,  and  the  families  on 
them,  and  sometimes  the  children  playing  there.    They 


tlClbere  Me  Xlveb  15 

spent  much  of  their  time  on  the  roof,  and  he  too  had 
many  a  play  in  that  same  place.  Their  houses  were 
so  different  from  ours.  They  were  built  with  a  flat 
roof  and  very  low,  and  an  open  space  in  the  rear. 
The  walls  were  made  of  heavy  yellowish  white  stone, 
which  always  sparkled,  and  were  almost  dazzling 
in  the  sunshine.  These  houses  had  many  fig  trees,  and 
orange  trees,  and  olive  trees,  and  cypress  trees,  and 
others  around  them.  They  were  separated  by  small 
gardens.  In  these  trees  and  gardens  were  many  birds 
of  many  kinds,  most  beautiful  in  color  and  sweet  in 
song.  They  made  the  world  a  great  music  hall,  and 
the  concert  was  always  going  on.  Their  songs  must 
have  thrilled  the  heart  of  Jesus  who  watched  them  flit 
across  the  open  and  above  the  houses  to  find  their  nests 
and  little  ones.  He  saw  the  dove  as  you  have  seen  it. 
He  listened  to  the  lark  sing  her  sweet  song  and  the 
thrush  warble  her  rich  notes.  When  the  evening  came 
and  the  shadows  fell  he  heard  the  nightingale  in  her 
special  bird  music.  When  Jesus  walked  along  the  hill- 
side the  brightest-winged  butterflies  were  on  the  flow- 
ers and  flying  across  his  path.  Undoubtedly  he  took 
off  his  hat  and  tried  to  catch  them.  He  must  have 
wanted  to  get  a  closer  look  at  them.  Every  boy  has 
run  after  a  butterfly,  and  of  course  Jesus  did  too. 

On  those  hillsides  were  many  flocks  of  sheep.  These 
and  their  shepherds  helped  to  make  his  world,  and  he 
enjoyed  being  with  them  and  watching  their  clipping 


1 6  z\)c  JBo^  3e0U0 

of  the  grass  and  finding  the  best  place.  He  helped 
them  to  find  it  sometimes,  and  he  must  have  helped  the 
shepherd  too.  He  listened  to  the  stories  of  the  shep- 
herd and  the  strange  music  from  his  pipe. 

Down  from  one  of  the  hillsides  and  through  the 
valley  a  brook  flowed,  the  only  one  in  all  that  part  of 
the  country.  Jesus  was  often  by  its  spring  and  along 
the  stream.  There  was  much  here  to  see,  and  always 
a  great  place  for  play.  Everybody  came  to  this  foun- 
tain, and  there  were  always  boys  and  girls  there. 

Nazareth  was  on  the  great  caravan  roadway,  and 
many  travelers  were  always  coming  and  going.  They 
stopped  there  and  stayed  there  as  they  passed  through. 
Jesus  must  have  seen  many  strange  people  and  strange 
scenes.  This  was  one  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of 
his  boyhood  life.  Some  of  them  came  from  Galilee, 
and  some  of  them  from  Jerusalem  and  the  south,  and 
some  of  them  from  the  north,  and  some  from  the  sea- 
coast.  It  was  a  center  of  life  and  commerce.  This 
foreign  traffic  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the 
stain  which  some  people  place  on  the  name  of  Naza- 
reth, and  also  with  the  roughness  of  some  of  its  peo- 
ple. Jesus  had  to  live  among  this  kind  of  people  just 
as  many  boys  have  to  do  to-day  in  their  town  or 
work  or  school  or  even  home,  and  yet  he  did  not  be- 
come like  the  rough  people,  but  stayed  gentle  and  true 
and  noble  and  good.  He  showed  other  boys  what  they 
could  do  no  matter  where  they  had  to  live. 


Mbcre  IHe  Xtvcb  17 

If  you  went  to  Nazareth  to-day,  what  kind  of  look- 
ing people  would  you  see  ?  How  do  they  dress  ?  Just 
about  the  same  as  they  did  when  Jesus  was  there.  The 
men  and  boys  wear  a  short  cloak,  a  bright-colored 
handkerchief  of  cloth  folded  in  three  corners  and 
thrown  over  their  heads  so  as  to  fall  over  the  neck  and^ 
shoulders.  The  women  wear  a  white  veil  and  silk 
dress  and  broad  scarf  and  many  colored  trousers,  blue 
and  yellow  and  green  and  red.  People  there  wore 
more  white  and  less  color  when  Jesus  was  a  boy.  If 
the  clothes  were  white,  they  were  made  so  white  that 
they  said  no  one  could  make  them  whiter.  Sometimes 
now  the  women  and  girls  have  only  a  long  blue  gar- 
ment tied  in  around  the  waist,  a  bonnet  of  red  cloth 
and  around  it  a  chain  of  silver  coins,  and  over  it  all 
a  veil  or  shawl  of  white  cotton  cloth  is  thrown.  The 
kind  and  color  of  clothes  do  not  make  a  people.  They 
were  just  the  same  as  men  and  women  and  boys  and 
girls  are  to-day. 

This  place  where  Jesus  lived  as  a  boy  must  have  had 
a  good  many  things  beautiful  about  it,  but  we  would 
scarcely  know  there  ever  had  been  or  was  such  a  place 
on  earth  if  Jesus  had  not  lived  there.  The  place  where 
a  boy  lives  cannot  make  the  boy.  Every  boy  makes  his 
own  life  and  his  own  kind  of  a  world. 


iFiFir 

■ffn  School 

|ID  Jesus  go  to  school  and  did  he  hke  it? 

He  went  to  school  and  liked  it  about 

the  same  as  most  other  boys  liked  it. 

Some  things  about  it  were  pleasant, 

and  some  other  things  did  not  please 

him  so  well.    He  liked  the  holiday  and 

the  vacation  times  too.    He  learned  the  same  as  other 

boys  must  learn.    He  knew  a  hard  lesson  when  it  came 

to  him,  and  perhaps  would  rather  have  an  easy  one,  but 

he  saw  the  great  need  of  his  school  life,  and  tried  his 

best  to  get  all  the  knowledge  he  could.  He  studied  hard 

and   lived   a   good   boy's   motto,    "  Work   and   win." 

Some  things  about  his  school  were  not  the  same  as 

yours,  but  the  study  and  the  work  have  always  been 

the  same  and  must  always  be.     It  is  said  he  grew  in 

wisdom,  and  no  boy  can  ever  grow  in  wisdom  without 

study,  and  good  hard  study. 

Jesus  learned  a  great  deal  before  he  went  to  school. 

His  father  and  mother  gave  him  many  lessons,  and 

tried  to  have  him  know  as  much  as  possible.     They 
i8 


1ln  Scbool  19 

felt  it  their  duty  to  teach  him  as  well  as  to  feed  his 
body  and  clothe  him.  So  when  he  went  to  school  he 
was  better  ready  for  the  teacher  and  the  higher  lessons. 

In  his  school  the  arrangement  was  for  the  teacher  to 
sit  on  a  raised  seat,  while  the  boys  sat  on  the  floor  or 
sometimes  stood.  They  were  arranged  in  a  half- 
circle,  the  younger  ones  in  the  first  row  and  the  older 
ones  back  of  them  according  to  their  ages.  They  did 
not  have  books  as  we  have  them  now.  Sometimes  the 
lesson  was  from  the  Jewish  law  and  was  written  out, 
and  each  one  learned  it  to  repeat  with  the  others. 
Most  of  their  study  was  in  the  law,  and  to  commit  it  to 
memory,  and  then  to  advance  to  other  books  concern- 
ing the  law  as  they  made  progress  in  the  school.  Much 
of  it  was  repeated  to  them  by  the  teacher,  and  they 
were  to  learn  and  remember  it  by  saying  it  after  him. 
In  his  class  there  were  probably  twenty-five  scholars. 
If  there  were  ever  more  than  that  they  had  to  have  two 
teachers.  The  great  thing  for  a  boy  then  was  to  have 
a  good  memory,  and  to  train  it  to  do  wonderful  things. 
Everything  was  to  be  memorized,  and  the  method 
was  to  repeat  it  over  and  over  again  in  school,  then 
to  repeat  it  at  home,  and  to  think  about  it  many  other 
times  until  it  was  fastened  so  that  it  could  never  be 
forgotten. 

Jesus  carried  it  home  with  him  the  same  as  you  do 
your  home  work,  and  he  said  it  over  and  over  again. 
He  went  by  himself  to  get  his  work  done,  and  shut 


20  tTbe  'SBo^  3e6U0 

his  eyes  and  just  thought  about  that  one  thing  until  he 
knew  it,  and  when  he  was  sure  of  it  he  felt  happy, 
just  as  every  other  boy  feels  when  he  has  his  lesson. 
He  said  many  times  to  his  mother  and  father  "  I 
know  it.  Now  see  if  I  can  say  it  without  hesitating 
once.  I  can  say  it  as  well  as  the  teacher."  He  always 
did  his  studying  first  and  then  felt  free  to  do  other 
things.  The  pleasure  would  have  been  spoiled  by 
thinking  about  what  he  had  to  do.  If  it  was  done, 
then  he  was  free  and  his  heart  light.  If  a  boy  has  a 
great  load  of  books  or  lessons  on  his  back  he  cannot 
run  or  do  anything  as  he  ought  to.  Take  the  load 
off  and  he  straightens  up  for  the  best  his  world  can 
give  him.  He  is  a  wise  boy  who  gives  first  place  to 
his  study.  Men  say  "  Business  first  and  pleasure  after- 
ward." If  that  is  good  for  grown-up  boys,  it  is  good 
for  regular  boys  too. 

Jesus  kept  first  things  first.  The  most  important 
part  of  his  life  was  not  pushed  back,  but  kept  right  in 
the  front.  He  studied  his  best  while  he  was  at  it,  and 
then  he  learned  it  and  found  pleasure  in  it  and 
enjoyed  everything  else  better  too.  To  delay  it  and 
delay  it  until  you  are  tired  is  to  dread  it  and  take  twice 
as  long  to  get  it  and  then  not  remember  it.  Jesus 
took  it  as  one  of  the  best  parts  of  life  and  put  the 
best  into  it.  He  gave  his  attention  strictly  to  every- 
thing the  teacher  said,  and  in  this  way  made  it  easier 
for  himself  and  the  teacher  both.     He  thought  it  a 


In  Scbool  2  1 

great  art  to  know  how  to  fasten  his  attention.  That 
is  the  way  to  learn  and  to  remember.  To  fasten  our 
attention  on  anything  is  to  fasten  it  in  memory.  If 
any  boy  wants  to  be  a  good  scholar  he  must  fix  his 
whole  mind  on  the  one  lesson  he  is  trying  to  learn. 
To  pay  strict  attention  is  the  great  secret,  and  Jesus 
knew  it.  He  must  have  had  a  splendid  memory  be- 
cause he  showed  it  when  he  became  a  man.  All  those 
things  he  learned  in  school  he  knew  twenty  years 
after,  because  when  a  boy  he  learned  to  hold  his 
thinking  to  one  point.  He  never  did  as  many  boys  do 
now,  try  to  study  their  lesson  while  they  are  think- 
ing about  a  hundred  other  things,  and  the  next  day 
fail  when  they  come  to  recite,  and  in  a  little  time  for- 
get they  ever  had  a  lesson.  Jesus  was  always  saying 
"  I  will  do  this  one  thing  and  do  it  well,  and  remember 
it  as  long  as  I  live." 

Jesus  always  learned  much  by  the  way  in  which  he 
looked  at  everything.  He  saw  it,  he  saw  it  all  the  way 
through,  and  saw  it  just  as  it  was.  Many  boys  see, 
and  yet  they  never  see.  That  sounds  strange,  yet  it 
is  so  true.  To  be  observing  and  see  what  you  look 
at  is  a  large  part  of  education.  This  not  only  makes 
a  boy  understand  all  things,  but  whatever  he  sees  he 
commits  to  memory  to  keep  for  him  forever.  To 
look  at  a  bird  and  see  not  only  a  bird,  but  a  certain 
kind  of  a  bird,  its  color,  its  size,  its  shape,  its  peculiar 
song,  how  it  flies,  and  all  about  it,  is  to  know  that 


2  2  Ebc  3o^  3cme 

bird  the  next  time,  and  know  it  from  other  birds,  and 
to  know  more  about  your  world  than  you  ever  knew 
before.  This  is  the  way  Jesus  looked  at  everything, 
and  tried  to  learn  something  from  everything.  He 
was  doing  all  his  study  for  a  purpose,  and  that 
brightened  all  his  boy  days.  He  was  working  not 
only  to  know  more,  but  to  be  more  for  his  world  and 
for  other  people.  He  wanted  to  become  the  most  so  that 
he  could  help  others  the  most.  Educated  to  serve  was 
his  thought  and  desire.  It  does  not  make  any  differ- 
ence what  a  boy  means  to  be  when  he  becomes  a  man. 
This  same  purpose  ought  to  be  his  while  he  is  in 
school,  to  make  the  most  out  of  himself,  so  that  he 
can  do  the  most  for  others,  and  learn  the  most  so  that 
he  can  give  the  most.  Jesus  began  to  work  this  out 
in  his  school.  Many  times  he  walked  to  school  with 
another  boy  and  told  him  the  part  of  the  lesson  he  did 
not  know;  or  when  another  boy  came  to  his  house 
they  sat  down  together  and  Jesus  helped  him  out  and 
made  him  happy.  He  was  always  looking  out  for 
the  dull  boy,  and  when  he  could  honestly  help  him, 
and  not  do  anything  the  teacher  told  him  not  to  do, 
he  was  glad  to  do  it. 

Another  thing  Jesus  must  often  have  done  in  his 
school  days  when  the  lesson  was  very  hard  and  some- 
thing in  it  he  could  not  understand.  He  must  have 
bowed  his  head  and  asked  his  heavenly  Father  to 
show  him.     Why  not  pray  over  a  hard  lesson  just  as 


tin  Scbool  23 

well  as  over  anything  else  in  this  world?  When  a 
good  boy  has  done  his  best  God  is  waiting  to  help  him. 
Jesus  knew  this  and  many  times  had  his  prayer  an- 
swered. When  a  problem  is  a  puzzle,  push  your  best 
right  up  against  it,  and  then  ask  God  to  help  you 
through.  Why  not?  This  is  a  part  of  life,  the  best 
part.  It  was  made  especially  for  school  and  good 
boys  who  get  a  hard  lesson.  Jesus  knew  this  and  it 
was  a  large  part  of  his  secret.  He  studied  hard  and 
God  always  helped  him.  He  didn't  hate  school  and 
stay  away  from  it,  but  he  learned  to  like  it,  because  it 
was  making  him  ready  for  life  and  to  be  what  God 
wanted  him  to  be. 


If  ID 


®n  the  plaiegrounb 

UST    below    and    right    in    front    of 

Nazareth  there  is  a  large  level  space. 

This  is  almost  surrounded  by  hills, 

and    makes    a    perfect    playground. 

They  could  not  find  a  better  place  to 

have  a  ball  game  than  this.     It  seems 

to  have  been  made  for  this,  and  in  their  sports  all  the 

boys  knew  this  level,  grass-covered  field  better  than 

any  other  in  the  world,  and  Jesus  must  have  been  there 

very   often   too,   and   not   only   was   he   there  but   he 

entered  the  games  with  more  life  and  joy  than  most 

others.     They  liked  to  be  with  him  and  he  with  them, 

and  no  one  had  a  happier  time  than  he.     Just  what 

games  they  played  we  do  not  know,  but  they  were 

something  like  ours,  and  some  of  them  just  the  same. 

Whatever  the  game  was,  Jesus  would  enter  into  it 

and  like  to  play  it  and  played  his  best. 

They  are  having  a  ball  game,  perhaps,  in  which  all 

the  boys  are  interested,  and  each  side  is  doing  its  best 

to  win.     There  are  many  watching  the  play  and  are 
24 


almost  as  anxious  as  the  players  themselves.  Neither 
side  seems  to  be  able  to  get  far  in  the  lead,  and  it  is  near 
the  end,  when  suddenly  there  is  a  great  shout  and  every- 
body is  excited.  They  hear  the  cheering  and  laughter 
all  over  the  village.  Some  one  struck  the  ball  and  it 
flew  like  a  bird  just  over  the  heads  of  the  second  base 
and  center  field  and  away  over  the  line.  There  was  a 
home  run  and  time  to  spare  and  a  triumph  for  his  side. 
If  Jesus  was  there,  he  was  the  most  interested  and 
most  enthusiastic  of  them  all.  He  threw  himself  into 
this  part  of  life  the  same  as  in  other  things.  He  gave 
it  his  whole  attention  and  gave  it  his  best.  This  was 
one  of  the  reasons  why  all  other  boys  liked  to  be  on 
his  side.  It  is  a  great  thing  for  a  boy  to  be  a  good 
player.  As  many  mistakes  are  made  here  as  in  other 
parts  of  life.  To  play  well  and  get  the  most  out  of  it 
for  yourself  and  for  others  is  a  great  art.  Jesus  knew 
the  secret.  He  could  do  more  than  one  thing,  and 
whenever  they  wanted  him  he  did  his  best.  He  could 
throw  the  ball  or  strike  the  ball  or  catch  the  ball.  He 
could  throw  a  swift  one  and  catch  it  when  it  was 
thrown  to  him.  There  was  no  half-way  with  Jesus. 
Every  muscle  and  nerve  and  faculty  had  to  be  called 
into  service  just  as  much  when  he  played  as  when  he 
worked.  He  must  have  followed  the  motto  "  Work 
when  you  work  and  play  when  you  play."  He  gave 
the  whole  self  to  that  one  thing.  He  did  not  want  to 
be  on  the  playground  all  the  time,  but  when  he  entered 


26  Z\)C  BO^  3C6U0 

into  any  game  he  made  a  business  of  it.  This  is  the 
best  way,  the  only  way.  Play  when  you  play.  Work 
when  you  work.  Sleep  when  you  sleep.  Whatever 
you  do,  do  that  thing  then  and  do  it  all  over. 

But  Jesus  did  not  play  for  himself.  The  deepest 
enjoyment  bubbled  up  in  the  fountain  of  unselfishness. 
He  was  always  thinking  of  the  other  boy,  not  how  he 
could  have  his  own  way  and  the  best  place  and  play 
his  own  kind  of  game,  but  the  first  thought  was  the 
desire  of  others.  He  had  learned  that  to  increase 
the  joy  of  another  is  the  best,  and  in  reality  the  only 
way  to  increase  your  own.  Have  you  ever  heard  boys 
say,  with  the  voice  of  a  cat  or  dog,  or  the  growl  of  a 
bear,  "  I  don't  want  to  play  that.  I  will  not  do  this. 
If  I  cannot  play  what  I  want  to  I  won't  play  at  all. 
If  I  have  to  be  '  it '  I  will  go  home.  I  will  not  be  in  it 
at  all  if  I  cannot  have  my  way."  He  is  the  disagreeable 
boy  who  plays  soldier,  but  must  always  be  captain; 
who  plays  horse,  but  must  always  be  driver;  who 
plays  ball,  but  must  be  at  the  bat;  who  plays  always 
the  game  of  self  and  likes  no  other.  How  the  play  of 
the  world  is  ruined  by  such  boys!  How  all  the  music 
is  made  discord,  and  everybody  a  little  less  happy  by 
such  a  spirit!  Jesus  never  talked  or  acted  like  that. 
He  may  have  wanted  to  play  another  game,  but  he 
would  not  stand  out  against  all  the  others  and  be  mean. 
He  could  not  be  mean.  He  knew  how  to  give  in  and 
be  the  first  to  consider  the  others.     A  selfish  boy  is  a 


®n  tbe  pIa150roun^  27 

poor  playmate.  Very  soon  everybody  knows  him  and  no 
one  likes  him.  Selfishness  is  poison,  and  poison  kills 
every  sport.  If  they  played  tag,  it  was  just  like  Jesus 
to  offer  to  be  "  it  "  first.  The  other  kind  of  a  boy 
would  try  every  possible  way,  even  by  falsehood,  to 
get  the  best  for  himself,  and  make  some  one  else  have 
the  hard  place,  and  if  he  could  keep  that  one  in  it, 
strive  his  best  to  do  so.  Very  likely  this  one  would  be 
the  small  boy,  or  the  slow  boy,  or  the  lame  boy.  Jesus 
would  give  them  the  best  chance  and  help  them  win  if 
he  could.  You  would  have  seen  him  slacken  his  speed 
or  stumble  purposely  to  be  caught  by  some  one  who 
was  almost  out  of  breathing  material.  He  was  so 
quick,  and  was  apt  to  see  just  how  the  other  boy  was 
feeling,  and  at  the  critical  time  help  him  out.  There 
are  some  boys  who  only  play  when  they  can  win.  They 
like  most  any  game  when  they  come  out  ahead,  but  as 
soon  as  it  goes  against  them  they  are  ready  to  give  it 
up,  even  to  break  up  the  game  before  it  is  played  out 
if  they  are  behind.  The  game  has  lost  all  its  charm 
for  them  when  another  is  winning.  Any  boy  who 
plays  like  that  does  not  hold  out  a  very  good  sign  in 
front  of  himself.  Others  know  instantly  what  kind  of 
a  boy  he  is.  Jesus  was  just  as  happy  when  some  one 
else  won  the  game.  It  was  a  different  drop  of  joy, 
but  it  tasted  just  as  sweet  in  his  cup.  One  thing  was 
always  said  about  him  by  all  the  boys  of  Nazareth, 
"  He  played  fair."    He  hated  cheating.    The  boy  who 


28  zibe  »oi?  3e0U9 

by  some  trick  or  half-lie  would  get  the  best  of  the  other 
boy  was  not  his  kind.  He  was  happier  away  from 
them.  The  one  who  cheats  always  thrusts  something 
into  the  game  to  mar  it.  Every  one  distrusts  him  and 
the  whole-hearted  confidence  is  driven  away.  Some 
boys  would  not  steal  or  lie,  but  will  deceive  and  mis- 
represent and  play  unfair.  Jesus  could  always  be 
trusted.  He  was  large-hearted,  and  open-hearted,  and 
pure-hearted,  and  whole-hearted. 

The  boy  who  is  always  playing  hide  and  seek  with 
himself  is  a  poor  playmate.  He  plays  the  same  with 
others  and  they  do  not  know  where  to  find  him.  You 
want  to  know  a  boy  when  you  see  him,  and  not  be 
compelled  to  watch  a  long  time  and  then  have  him  a 
stranger  yet  and  wonder  about  him,  not  knowing  what 
he  will  do.  To  look  at  Jesus  was  to  know  him ; 
straightforward,  sincere,  and  true,  the  hater  of  every 
underhanded  scheme  and  trick  and  deception.  He  did 
not  try  to  be  other  than  he  was.  Many  a  bright 
boy,  and  attractive,  spoils  himself  and  the  joy  of  others 
by  trying  to  be  something  he  is  not.  What  do  you 
think  of  such  a  boy?  You  have  seen  him ;  take  a  good 
look  at  him  and  say  honestly  what  you  think  of  him. 
He  looks  so  small  you  almost  pity  him.  How  unmanly 
and  ignoble  and  foolish  the  boy  who  is  always  playing 
smart,  trying  to  make  others  laugh  at  his  own  ex- 
pense !  And  it  is  very  expensive.  It  costs  him  all  his 
manly  qualities.     It  is  the  waste  of  everything  noble 


®n  tbe  JMa^atounb  29 

and  attractive  in  him.  Almost  any  other  kind  of  a  boy 
than  this  one,  the  homely  boy,  the  slow  boy,  the  igno- 
rant boy,  the  dull  boy,  rather  than  this  repulsive  one! 
Jesus  was  above  all  this  clownish  action.  He  was  just 
a  true,  sincere,  noble,  clear-eyed,  clean-hearted,  well- 
rounded  boy,  who  knew  how  to  play  the  best  game  in 
the  world — making  others  happy. 


It) 

(Boing  to  (Tbuvcb 

jHEN  Jesus  was  twelve  years  old  a 
great  event  took  place  in  his  life.  He 
went  with  his  father  that  long  journey 
of  many  miles  and  many  days  to 
Jerusalem.  He  had  often  thought  of 
this,  and  wished  that  he  might  go. 
It  was  so  much  in  his  desire  and  thought  that  he  must 
have  even  dreamed  about  it  in  the  night.  He  had 
looked  forward  to  it.  He  could  hardly  wait  for  the 
day  to  come  when  they  would  start  for  the  city  about 
which  he  had  heard  so  much,  and  which  was  to  him 
the  most  sacred  and  wonderful  of  all  places  on  earth. 
Now  there  was  to  be  a  great  religious  feast.  Many 
were  going,  whole  companies  and  caravans  of  trav- 
elers. They  all  had  to  walk  or  ride  on  donkey  back  or 
on  camels  as  far  as  they  could  in  the  daytime,  and 
jthen  pitch  their  tents  for  rest  at  night. 

Every  year  his  father  and  mother  had  gone  on  the 
same  journey  but  he  always  stayed  at  home,  and  waited 
anxiously  for  the  day  to  come  when  he  would  be  able 
30 


(Botng  to  Cburcb  31 

to  go  with  them.  Now  it  had  arrived !  How  he  must 
have  pictured  the  great  city  and  the  beautiful  temple 
and  wondered  about  it  all !  For  twelve  years  he  had 
heard  the  history  of  it,  and  the  wonders  connected 
with  its  life  and  worship.  That  morning  they  left 
their  home  in  Nazareth  must  have  been  the  brightest 
he  had  yet  seen,  and  the  first  sight  of  the  great  city 
and  the  first  day  in  it  were  beyond  his  expectation  full 
of  excitement  and  wonder. 

He  went  with  them  for  the  same  purpose  as  all  the 
other  people,  just  to  worship  in  the  great  temple  and 
keep  the  religious  feast  which  they  called  the  Passover. 
To  a  boy's  wondering  eyes  this  all  must  have  been  a 
kind  of  new  world.  When  a  boy  has  a  time  like  this 
come  in  his  life  how  does  he  feel?  That  must  have 
been  the  way  Jesus  felt.  He  had  heard  so  much  about 
the  temple  and  its  worship,  and  now  he  was  walking 
in  the  courts  of  the  building,  looking  at  the  priests  and 
the  altar  with  its  bleeding  sacrifice  and  rising  incense, 
and  saw  the  holy  place  and  the  great  veil,  and  won- 
dered about  it  and  what  was  behind  it.  The  thought 
must  have  stirred  his  heart.  Something  in  him  seemed 
to  say  that  was  the  best  place  in  which  he  had  ever 
been,  and  something  made  him  feel  as  if  he  wanted  to 
stay  right  there.  They  were  in  and  around  the  temple 
and  in  and  around  the  city  for  seven  days.  He  saw 
the  streets  and  their  stores.  He  saw  the  palaces  and 
towers,  and  huge  walls  and  large  gates.     He  visited 


32  tTbe  Boi?  3e0U0 

their  friends  and  all  places  of  interest,  but  the  one 
place  most  attractive  to  him  was  the  temple. 

Now  they  were  ready  to  return  home  and  something 
strange  happened.  The  roads  were  crowded,  and 
thousands  were  going  in  every  direction,  especially 
on  the  way  toward  Galilee.  His  father  and  mother 
were  in  a  long  procession,  all  returning  together.  The 
custom  was  for  the  boys  to  be  kept  together  for  travel 
and  in  the  same  tents  at  night.  The  first  night  out, 
when  his  mother  went  to  look  for  Jesus  and  see  if  he 
was  all  right  she  could  not  find  him.  During  the  day 
they  supposed  he  was  coming  behind  with  the  others, 
and  now  he  was  missing !  No  one  seemed  to  know  about 
him.  They  searched  everywhere  and  asked  everybody, 
but  he  could  not  be  found.  Both  his  father  and  mother 
were  very  anxious  and  frightened.  They  feared  some 
harm  had  come  to  him.  Possibly  some  enemy  had 
taken  him  and  hidden  him  in  Jerusalem  and  would 
carry  him  away.  Possibly  some  accident  had  befallen 
him.  They  supposed  of  course  that  he  had  started  with 
the  others  and  was  following  in  the  rear  of  the  proces- 
sion. They  immediately  turned  back  and  hastened  to 
the  city  to  search  there  for  him.  How  sad  their  hearts 
were,  and  how  full  of  dark  thoughts!  They  had  sup- 
posed there  was  no  risk  in  taking  him  with  them  and 
now  some  evil  had  befallen  him.  Maybe  some  one 
had  recognized  him  and  remembered  his  escape  from 
Herod  when  he  was  a  baby,  and  now  had  carried  out 


■  ^ 

■  3 


g  3 


n 

> 


D 


(Botna  to  (Tburcb  3^ 

the  order  of  the  governor;  but  twelve  years  had 
passed ;  he  was  so  changed,  and  they  were  changed  too. 
No  one  could  have  known  anything  about  this.  It  must 
be  something  else.  The  stars  that  night  seemed  to 
lose  their  light,  it  was  so  dark  for  them.  They  quickly 
went  from  one  place  to  another.  They  did  this  for 
one  or  two  whole  days  and  asked  every  one  about  him. 
At  last  they  found  him.  He  was  in  one  of  the  side 
rooms  of  the  temple,  a  room  where  the  wise  men  and 
religious  teachers  were  accustomed  to  be  and  to  teach. 
He  was  in  the  center  of  this  company  of  old  teachers, 
and  was  asking  them  questions.  They  seemed  to  be 
astonished  at  the  knowledge  Jesus  had,  and  were  si- 
lenced before  some  of  his  statements.  This  room  was 
a  kind  of  school,  and  the  custom  was  to  ask  questions ; 
but  this  boy  and  his  questions  were  new  to  them  and 
caused  them  to  wonder.  They  could  not  understand 
where  this  plain-looking,  and  yet  bright-faced  Galilean 
boy  had  learned  such  wisdom.  He  was  so  interested,  and 
they  w^ere  so  interested  in  him,  that  the  time  had  passed 
so  quickly  he  had  not  realized  the  meaning  of  his  ab- 
sence from  his  father  and  mother.  Now  when  they  saw 
him  they  were  so  amazed  and  so  delighted  that  they 
could  hardly  speak.  At  last  his  mother  asked  him  why 
he  had  stayed  there  and  given  them  this  anxiety  and 
long  search.  She  could  not  understand  it  then.  I 
wonder  if  Jesus  just  understood  all  of  its  meaning. 
At  least  he  knew  this,  that  he  had  something  special  to 


34  tbe  IBo^  3e6U0 

do  in  the  world,  and  this  stay  with  the  teachers  in  the 
temple  was  necessary  to  that  life-work.  What  a  won- 
derful moment  it  is  in  the  life  of  any  boy  when  he 
realizes  that  he  has  a  work  to  do  in  the  world  and 
decides  to  do  it,  and  from  that  hour  pushes  his  whole 
life  toward  that  end!  When  a  boy  wants  to  do  what 
God  wants  him  to  do,  and  finds  out  what  that  is,  he  is 
on  the  way  to  the  highest  life  and  the  only  success. 

When  Jesus  was  home  in  •Nazareth  he  always  went 
to  church  and  always  liked  to  go.  It  was  a  large  part 
of  his  life.  The  Bible  says  it  was  his  habit  to  go  to 
the  house  of  God  always  on  the  Sabbath  Day.  When 
he  waked  up  in  the  morning  his  first  thought  was  the 
worship  of  God.  This  was  the  training  of  all  boys 
then.  Just  as  soon  as  he  waked  he  thought  of  God 
and  prayed.  When  he  arose  from  the  bed  he  was 
not  allowed  to  move  four  steps  before  washing  his 
hands  and  face  as  a  sign  that  he  had  a  clean  heart  and 
a  pure  life.  It  was  wicked  to  touch  the  face  or  any 
part  of  the  body  until  this  was  done.  After  he  was 
dressed  he  lifted  the  basin  wnth  his  right  hand  and 
passed  it  to  his  left  hand,  pouring  the  clear,  clean,  cold 
water  three  times  over  the  right  hand,  and  then  the 
same  was  done  for  his  left  hand.  Afterward  he 
washed  his  face  three  times.  Then  his  hands  were 
raised  and  a  prayer  was  made. 

This  Jesus  did  every  morning  of  his  life.  Then  he 
usually   went   into   the   church   for   a   daily   morning 


6oim  to  (Tburcb  35 

service.  There  were  also  many  special  religious  services 
and  days.  So  Jesus  came  often  to  the  house  of  God  to 
worship.  It  was  a  large  part  of  his  life.  It  ought  to  be 
of  every  boy's  life;  no  habit  is  so  good  as  this.  Never 
to  have  it  or  to  lose  it  is  the  saddest  thing  in  life. 

Sometimes  in- the  synagogue  in  Nazareth  Jesus  saw 
all  the  people  come  in  clothed  in  a  garment  of  coarsest 
cloth  and  throw  ashes  on  their  head,  while  the  minister 
was  calling  on  everybody  to  repent  and  be  truly  sorry 
for  their  sins.  Then  all  the  people  would  say  mourn- 
fully some  psalm,  and  the  trumpets  would  wail  out  a 
crying  sound.  After  this  they  all  went  to  the  cemetery, 
and  there  again  cried  over  their  sins.  This  and  all 
other  kinds  of  religious  services  had  much  to  do  with 
his  life.  There  were  three  regular  services  each  day 
and  the  best  people  went  to  them  all.  Our  boys  some- 
times think  one  service  in  a  whole  week  is  too  much. 

To  what  kind  of  a  church  did  Jesus  go  ?  There  was 
only  one  in  Nazareth.  It  was  a  stone  building  about 
twice  as  long  as  it  was  wide,  built  of  heavy  stones  and 
stone  floors,  with  three  doors  in  one  end  and  five  rows 
of  seats  within.  The  women  were  separated  from  the 
men  in  the  service,  and  they  were  not  seen  by  each 
other.  This  and  some  other  things  seem  very  strange 
to  us,  but  to  them  and  to  Jesus  it  had  everything  to  do 
with  their  life.  No  place  was  so  much  to  him  as  this 
church.  He  did  not  think  of  it  as  something  he  could 
just  as  well  leave  out  of  his  life,  as  though  it  did  not 


make  much  difference  anyway.  Rather,  he  said,  "  This 
is  the  necessary  part  of  my  hving."  Sometimes  boys 
become  very  careless  about  the  church.  They  even  do 
not  go  to  the  Sunday-school  and  do  not  have  anything 
to  do  with  good  things,  not  thinking  that  they  lose 
God's  blessing  and  cannot  be  happy.  Jesus  did  not  need 
it  any  more  than  you  do,  but  he  formed  the  habit  of 
always  going  to  church.  The  boy  who  does  that  will 
grow  up  to  be  the  best  when  a  man.  The  church  is  the 
vital  part  of  the  boy's  life,  and  to  worship  God  the 
greatest  thing  a  boy  can  do. 


m 

TUnxning  THis  ^rabe 

HERE  is  in  Nazareth  a  small  car- 
penter shop  in  which  they  say  Joseph 
the  father  of  Jesus  worked,  and  in 
which  the  boy  Jesus  helped  his  father 
and  learned  to  be  a  carpenter  himself. 
This  may  not  be  the  place  where  he 
worked,  but  there  was  some  place  very  like  it  in  which 
a  large  part  of  his  boyhood  was  passed,  a  small  room 
with  great  stone  walls,  a  very  narrow  opening  for  a 
window,  so  that  most  of  the  time  it  was  more  dark 
than  light,  a  stone  floor  or  else  the  bare  ground,  a 
wooden  work-bench,  and  the  tools — very  different 
from  those  the  carpenters  now  have — few  in  number 
and  very  imperfect  to  accomplish  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  intended.  At  one  side  stood  a  bench  and  just 
above  it  two  or  three  shelves  against  the  wall.  On 
these  were  some  patterns  and  the  tools.  There  must 
have  been  a  hammer  and  something  like  a  saw,  also 
a  number  of  edge-tools  and  instruments  to  make  the 
holes  and  smooth  the  sticks  and  boards. 

37 


38  ^be  Boij  3e0U0 

Whatever  there  was  in  this  shop  it  was  much  harder 
to  make  beautiful  and  strong  things  than  it  is  now. 
Jesus  had  seen  his  father  work  so  hard  and  think  so 
much  over  the  things  he  had  to  make  that  he  was 
always  trying  to  help  him  and  do  what  he  could  to 
make  the  work  easier.  He  was  thinking  and  planning 
too,  and  doing  his  best  to  make  everything  come  out 
right.  Whenever  he  saw  his  father  stop  and  plan  and 
wipe  his  brow  and  seem  so  burdened  and  puzzled, 
Jesus  would  say,  "  Will  not  this  way  make  it  better?  " 
"  Cannot  I  hold  it  for  you?  "  "  Shall  not  I  run  and 
get  that  ?  "  ''  Tell  me  anything  to  do  and  I  will  do  it." 
Then  his  father  would  straigthen  up  and  the  burden 
would  seem  to  roll  right  off  his  shoulders.  His  face 
changed  and  he  began  to  see  it  better,  the  wrinkles 
became  smiles  and  he  said,  "  I  see  it  now.  We  can  do 
it  all  right."  "  We  " — he  counted  his  boy  in  with  him 
in  the  work.  They  were  partners  and  always  tried  to 
help  each  other.  He  stood  many  times  in  the  shavings 
and  held  one  end  of  the  large  stick  which  his  father  was 
trying  to  form  in  the  right  shape  for  a  yoke.  He 
watched  every  move  until  very  soon  he  knew  just  how 
to  make  one  himself.  He  was  always  asking  about  it 
and  trying  to  learn,  so  that  he  could  some  day  make 
the  same  things,  and  make  them  better  than  anybody 
else. 

That  carpenter  shop  was  a  familiar  place  to  Jesus. 
When  they  did  not  know  where  he  was  they  always 


Xcarntno  Me  IE;ra^e  39 

went  first  to  the  shop  to  find  him.  Many  hours  of  his 
time  were  spent  there  helping  his  father  and  learning 
his  trade.  This  had  very  much  to  do  with  his  whole 
life.  It  may  have  been  more  to  him  than  anything 
else  except  his  home.  Other  boys  liked  tools  and  liked 
to  make  things  themselves.  Jesus  was  just  the  same, 
about  that.  What  work  he  had  to  do  there  he  made 
pleasure  out  of  it  and  became  very  skilled  in  his  art. 

One  day  he  may  have  been  down  below  the  village 
watching  an  Arab  build  his  tent.  He  stayed  longer 
than  he  should  have  and  came  home  late  because  he  was 
so  interested  in  the  making  of  this  tent.  They  spread 
out  their  camel's  haircloth  or  skins  and  then  fixed 
the  center-pole,  throwing  over  it  the  covering  and  driv- 
ing down  the  pegs  at  the  right  distance  and  fastening 
the  strings  to  them  to  make  it  smooth  and  firm.  When 
this  was  all  ready  he  began  to  wish  he  had  a  tent  of  his 
own.  On  the  way  home  he  decided  to  make  one,  and 
to  plan  it  all  out  and  stay  awake  to  do  it.  They 
found  him  very  early  in  the  shop  in  the  morning, 
asking  his  father  if  he  could  have  that  piece  of  wood 
and  this  board,  and  then  he  worked  them  smooth  and 
got  them  the  right  length  and  sharpened  the  pegs. 
Afterward  he  found  some  old  cloth  and  fastening  all 
the  pieces  together  the  tent  was  ready  to  be  built  in 
their  yard  or  near  the  shop.  Every  boy  knows  some- 
thing about  this  part  of  life  and  its  joy.  Jesus  must 
have  known  too.     When  he  went  inside  that  tent  he 


40  ^be  B015  3C0U0 

was  delighted  with  his  success  as  any  other  boy  would 
have  been. 

It  must  have  been  a  bright  spot  in  his  boy  days 
when  his  father  took  him  over  the  hills  to  the  lake  of 
Galilee,  where  he  saw  that  beautiful  water  and  its  busy 
cities.  He  was  attracted  by  the  boats  especially,  so 
many  of  them,  sailboats  and  rowboats,  but  none  of 
which  go  like  our  steam  or  electric  boats — boats  for 
the  many  fishermen,  and  boats  for  other  people  to  cross 
the  lake  and  to  sail  for  pleasure.  He  must  have  said  to 
himself,  "  Just  as  soon  as  I  get  back  home  I  am  going 
right  to  the  shop  to  make  a  boat."  He  could  hardly 
wait  to  see  what  kind  of  a  small  boat  he  could  make. 
When  they  returned  he  found  the  wood  and  asked 
for  the  tools  and  planned  the  little  boat  just  like  those 
he  had  seen.  He  made  the  main  part  first  and  hollowed 
it  out.  He  fixed  a  small  cabin  and  whittled  out  a 
smooth  mast.  He  rigged  a  sail  on  the  mast  and  cut 
the  oars  to  be  ready  for  the  time  when  the  wind  did 
not  blow.  He  had  taken  notice  of  everything  they  had 
on  the  Galilee  boats,  and  his  boat  must  be  an  exact 
copy,  a  perfect  little  craft.  He  was  pleased  when  it 
was  finished.  Everybody  had  to  see  it  and  everybody 
praised  it.  Was  there  ever  a  boy  who  did  not  like 
to  make  a  boat?  If  you  have  not,  you  must  begin 
right  away ;  your  boy  life  and  pleasure  will  not  be 
complete  if  you  do  not  do  this. 

Whenever  his  mother  called  him  to  do  something 


Xearnina  IHI0  ^ra^e  41 

for  her  he  never  said,  "  Wait  a  minute,"  or  "  Ask 
somebody  else,"  or  "  I  don't  want  to  do  it,"  or  many 
other  repHes  which  some  boys  make  to  their  mothers. 
He  often  saw  what  wanted  to  be  done  before  she  asked 
him,  and  he  did  it  of  his  own  accord.  How  happy 
that  made  her!  It  made  her  burdens  hghter  for  the 
whole  day.  It  does  not  take  much  in  this  world  to 
change  everything.  Just  a  thought  or  a  word  or  a 
deed  prompted  by  love  is  a  magic  power. 

It  was  a  long  way  to  the  spring  where  they  went  for 
the  water.  All  the  water  they  drank  or  used  had  to 
be  carried  from  this  one  spring.  It  was  the  only  one  in 
all  that  part  of  the  country.  Many  times,  and  probably 
many  times  a  day,  some  one  had  to  go  for  water.  His 
mother  had  to  do  most  of  this  heavy  burden-bearing. 
When  he  was  too  small  to  carry  the  load  he  went  with 
her,  but  just  as  soon  as  he  could  do  it  for  her,  it  was 
his  joy  to  go.  This  fountain  of  water  was  like  the 
fountain  of  joy  in  his  heart.  It  is  a  manly  boy  who 
helps  his  mother  and  helps  his  father  and  is  not  afraid 
of  work  in  his  boyhood  days. 

Jesus  was  helping  his  father  earn  a  living  for  their 
family  and  learning  the  trade  for  himself.  Everything 
he  made  for  himself,  or  helped  his  father  in  the  making, 
was  preparing  him  to  bear  the  greater  burden  of  work 
when  it  came.  It  came  very  soon.  When  he  was  thir- 
teen or  fourteen  years  of  age  death  entered  their  home 
bringing  a  great  sorrow.     His  father  was  taken  away. 


42  ^be  30^  3e0U0 

His  mother  was  almost  crushed  beneath  the  blow. 
Now  was  his  chance.  Here  was  a  heavy  responsibility. 
Duty  called  loudly  to  him.  Of  course  he  heard  the 
call  and  answered  with  true  courage  and  love.  He 
must  take  his  father's  place ;  he  must  now  be  the 
carpenter  himself  and  make  the  yokes  and  plows  and 
doors  and  tables  and  chairs  and  benches  and  houses, 
and  almost  everything  that  was  made  then.  It  was 
such  a  blessing  that  he  had  learned  a  trade,  such  a 
grand  thing  that  the  boy  could  now  take  care  of 
himself  and  help  take  care  of  others.  Every  morning 
until  night  you  could  have  heard  the  hammer  pounding 
and  the  saw  making  its  noise,  and  the  axe  cutting  and 
the  gimlet  boring,  while  Jesus  stood  in  the  dust  and 
the  shavings,  breathing  hard  and  stopping  a  moment 
to  rest,  placing  his  tired  hand  on  his  side  and  his  other 
one  on  his  brow.  If  he  had  any  work  outside  he  car- 
ried a  huge  bag  of  tools  and  worked  under  a  very  hot 
sun.  He  sweltered  in  his  lifting  and  drawing  and 
planing  and  splitting  and  driving  all  the  day  long.  He 
knew  what  blistered  hands  and  bruised  fingers  were. 
He  knew  what  it  was  to  be  almost  too  tired  to  sleep  at 
night  and  not  all  rested  in  the  morning. 

While  he  was  yet  a  boy  he  knew  all  this.  He  was  a 
boy  working  at  making  wagons  and  houses  and  carry- 
ing heavy  burdens.  His  name  was  Jesus  then,  and  he 
was  just  living  your  life  and  getting  ready  to  be  your 
Saviour.     This  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  parts  of 


Ju:sus  IN   His  Worksho? 

From  tlie  original  ijhotograpli,  by  courtesy  of  tlie 
AV.  A.  Wilde  Company 


XearnlnG  IHte  ^rabe  43 

his  life.  He  was  not  afraid  of  work.  He  was  ready 
to  face  this  or  any  other  necessity.  It  was  just  noble 
for  him  to  take  care  of  his  mother.  Any  boy  who  does 
this  is  one  of  the  most  heroic  boys  in  the  world.  Many 
of  them  are  doing  it,  and  the  angels  stop  to  watch  them 
and  watch  over  them.  What  more  manly  act  in  this 
world  than  this !  Here  are  to  be  found  some  of  the 
greatest  boys  in  the  world,  boys  who  give  up  every- 
thing and  work  hard  to  support  their  mothers,  and 
possibly  their  little  brothers  and  sisters.  They  are 
royal  boys,  and  God  will  bless  them  for  it.  The  boy 
who  is  afraid  of  work  is  bound  to  be  a  failure.  This  is 
necessary  to  any  success  and  every  one  had  better  learn 
how  to  do  it  right  away.  To  be  lazy  is  to  be  wicked 
and  to  be  worthless.  A  snail  is  slow  but  it  is  not  lazy. 
The  alligator  sleeps  a  great  deal,  but  it  is  not  lazy. 
A  boy  ought  to  be  better  than  an  animal.  The  ideal 
boy  should  look  at  the  busy  ant  and  learn  a  great  les- 
son. Better  than  that,  he  ought  to  look  at  the  boy 
Jesus  and  see  him  at  work  and  see  him  happy  in  the 
doing  of  it,  and  see  him  always  doing  his  best. 


DHIf 
•ffn  THis  IHomc 


Y  the  side  of  one  of  the  narrow  streets 
of  Nazareth  stood  the  home  in  which 
Jesus  grew  up  and  which  he  loved  so 
much.  That  must  have  been  a 
blessed  place  for  him  and  a  shelter 
in  which  he  always  liked  to  be.  It 
was  very  different  from  our  homes  to-day — a  low,  flat- 
roofed,  small  building  made  out  of  white  stone.  The 
walls  were  very  thick.  Some  vines  were  creeping  over 
them,  and  doves  sunning  themselves  on  the  flat  roof. 
A  low  doorway  opened  through  one  of  the  walls,  and 
a  very  small  window  or  two.  When  Jesus  entered  this 
doorway  what  did  he  see?  A  large  room  with  very 
simple  things  in  it;  a  few  mats  on  the  floor;  a  large 
seat  along  the  wall  with  some  cushions  upon  it  and  the 
bright  quilts  that  were  used  for  covering  when  it  was 
used  for  the  bed  at  night.  In  the  daytime  this  bench 
also  served  to  hold  some  dishes  used  by  the  family. 
Another  chest  or  bench  stood  in  the  corner.  There 
were  several  large  clay  water-jars  also  upon  the  floor, 
44 


ffi 


K 


fin  IHte  IHome  45 

some  of  them  filled  with  water  and  some  held  green 
herbs  to  keep  the  water  fresh  and  cool. 

When  it  was  time  for  them  to  have  their  food,  what 
a  strange  sight!  Here  comes  the  mother  of  Jesus,  or 
some  one  else,  carrying  a  low,  round,  painted  stool  and 
standing  it  right  in  the  center  of  the  room.  Then  she 
brings  a  tray  holding  the  dish  in  which  the  food  is 
and  places  it  upon  the  stool.  The  whole  family  sit 
right  down  upon  the  floor,  or  on  mats,  with  their  legs 
crossed.  They  form  a  circle  around  this  table  alid 
eat  their  food  very  slowly  and  with  great  pleasure. 

These  things  seem  strange  to  us,  but  the  principal 
part  of  Jesus'  home  life  was  just  the  same  as  ours. 
Homes  are  not  made  out  of  stone  and  wood.  His 
father  and  mother  were  there,  and  his  friends,  with 
loving-kindness  and  sympathy  and  all  that  makes  life 
and  joy.  No  boy  who  lives  in  a  small  home  need  envy 
a  boy  who  lives  in  a  palace.  Love  makes  the  home. 
Jesus  knew  what  that  was.  He  loved  his  father  and 
mother  and  they  loved  him. 

When  he  first  began  to  learn  he  was  taught  to  honor 
his  parents.  He  made  that  one  of  the  great  lessons 
of  his  life.  The  boys  then  were  compelled  to  learn  that 
over  and  over  again  in  the  school  and  in  the  church 
and  in  the  home.  They  were  constantly  hearing  of 
God's  blessing  on  the  boy  who  was  good  to  his  father 
and  mother.  They  were  told  that  this  was  so  im- 
portant that  God  made  a  promise  and  fastened  it  to 


46  Zbc  IBo^  3e6U0 

his  commandments,  that  the  boy  who  did  this  should 
hve  long  and  prosper. 

Jesus  made  the  rule  of  his  boyhood  days  always  to 
respect  and  love  and  obey  his  parents.  He  planted  a 
seed  in  the  garden,  and  in  a  few  weeks  came  the 
beautiful  and  fragrant  blossom.  He  said  this  is  just 
the  way  with  life;  the  seeds  of  obedience  make  the 
garden  and  the  harvest  field.  If  his  father  told  him  to 
do  something,  he  always  did  that  one  thing  and  did  it 
well,  and  did  it  right  away.  If  his  mother  told  him  to 
go  to  the  fountain  or  the  market,  he  didn't  go  some- 
where else  or  linger  along  the  way.  He  knew  that 
obedience  meant  to  do  that  one  thing  and  to  do  it  at 
once.  To  be  asked  to  do  something  and  not  to  do 
that  but  something  else  is  not  obedience.  To  hesitate 
and  delay  is  not  to  obey.  Jesus  knew  this  so  well  and 
it  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  parts  of  his  life  as 
a  boy.  He  never  said  he  would  do  it  and  then  forget 
it,  or  always  answered  "  In  a  minute,"  "  Wait  and  I 
will,"  but  he  was  ready  to  drop  everything  and  do  the 
will  of  his  parents.  The  boy  who  is  obedient  is  the 
best  boy;  that  is  one  of  the  greatest  parts  of  all  life. 
To  respect  older  people  and  honor  them  and  serve  them 
is  one  of  the  noblest  things  in  the  world.  The  boy  who 
does  this  is  always  sure  to  make  a  good  man.  In  this 
way  Jesus  added  much  to  the  joy  of  his  home.  This 
helped  to  make  it  such  a  good  home.  Every  boy  has 
so  much  to  do  with  the  making  of  his  own  home.    He 


Iln  1Hi0  Home  m 

can  almost  always  have  it  just  what  he  wants  it  to  be. 
At  least,  he  can  always  make  his  part  of  it  right,  and 
be  obedient  and  respectful  and  loving  and  kind. 

If  )ou  had  been  in  the  boyhood  home  of  Jesus 
you  would  have  seen  something  like  this :  a  bright- 
faced  boy  with  his  great  round  eyes  looking  up  into 
his  mother's  face  as  he  sat  by  her  side  listening  to 
the  story  she  was  telling  him.  He  was  so  interested 
that  he  never  took  his  eyes  from  her,  and  he  almost 
stopped  breathing  sometimes.  He  always  desired  to 
hear  those  stories  which  were  so  familiar  to  her  and 
so  dear  to  her  people.  She  said,  "  Which  one  do  you 
wish  to  hear  now  ?  "  And  he  said,  "  Oh,  tell  me  about 
the  boy  David."  Then  she  began  to  relate  to  him  the 
story  of  that  boy  life,  watching  his  father's  sheep  in 
the  fields,  and  his  beautiful  voice  for  singing,  and  his 
skilful  hand  for  playing  on  the  harp  and  other  musical 
instruments;  how  he  went  away  w'ith  his  fiocks  for 
weeks  in  the  mountains  and  led  them  in  the  best  place 
for  pasture  in  the  daytime,  while  in  the  night  hours 
he  lay  by  them  on  the  hillside  and  in  the  valleys  to 
protect  them  from  the  wild  beasts  or  other  injury. 
Many  times  he  had  to  use  his  club  and  his  knife  against 
the  fierce  animals  which  came  to  kill  his  sheep. 

But  while  she  was  telling  all  this  part  of  David's 
life,  Jesus  was  waiting  for  the  one  part  most  excit- 
ing and  most  interesting  to  him — that  wonderful  day 
on  the  battlefield  when  the  two  armies  were  drawn  up 


48  tlbe  Boi^  3ceu0 

against  each  other,  and  the  great  giant  of  the  enemy 
had  challenged  so  boldly  and  contemptuously  the  other 
side.  Just  then  the  boy  David  came  into  the  camp  of 
Israel  with  some  things  his  mother  had  sent  to  his 
brothers  who  were  soldiers  in  the  army.  He  heard  the 
great  giant  defy  God  and  his  people  and  his  courageous 
soul  could  not  stand  this.  He  said,  "  I  will  fight  him  in 
the  strength  of  my  God."  They  all  laughed  at  him 
while  the  giant  mocked  him  and  cursed  him.  The 
soldiers  wanted  to  cover  him  with  heavy  armor  before 
he  went  to  meet  the  warrior,  but  he  refused  it  or  any 
other  help.  Breathing  his  prayer  to  God,  he  went  down 
to  the  side  of  the  brook  and  there  picked  out  five 
smooth  stones.  With  them  in  his  leather  bag  and  his 
sling  in  his  "hand,  to  the  amazement  of  them  all  he 
went  right  on  and  faced  the  bold  giant  who  laughed  at 
him  and  was  just  waiting  to  kill  him  in  an  instant;  but 
the  brave  boy  never  paused  until  he  came  very  near  his 
enemy.  Then  he  placed  one  of  the  little  pebbles  in  his 
leather  sling,  and  taking  perfect  aim  swung  it  around 
in  a  circle  as  swift  as  the  wind  and  let  it  go.  It  went 
like  an  arrow  straight  to  the  mark.  It  struck  the  giant 
right  in  the  forehead.  He  dropped  dead  on  the  hillside. 
David  ran  up  and  seized  his  mammoth  sword  and  fin- 
ished the  work  by  severing  his  head  from  his  body. 
The  frightened  army  all  fled  in  confusion  and  haste 
while  they  were  pursued  by  the  army  of  God  and  were 
at  last  defeated  and  destroyed.    The  boy  David  was  the 


fin  IHte  IHome  49 

hero.  Jesus  sat  almost  breathless  to  hear  the  end  of 
this  story.  His  mother  knew  just  how  to  tell  it,  and  to 
tell  him  that  the  boy  who  trusts  in  God  is  always 
victorious. 

Jesus  and  his  mother  must  have  gone  many  times 
from  their  home  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill  above  the 
village.  Here  was  a  grand  view  of  all  the  country  for 
many  miles,  the  mountains  and  the  valleys  and  the  sea 
and  the  stream.  She  had  had  to  tell  him  about  all  these 
places  because  so  many  things  had  taken  place  in  re- 
lation to  them.  Most  beautiful  hours  Jesus  passed 
up  there,  and  heard  very  many  interesting  stories. 
They  looked  southwest  for  twenty  miles  and  saw  the 
famous  Mount  Carmel  lifting  its  head  above  all  the 
surrounding  country,  and  looking  as  if  it  was  a  mighty 
king  defying  the  sea  which  stretched  far  away  in  the 
distance.  Then  his  mother  told  him  all  that  strange 
scene  which  took  place  many  years  before  on  the  top  of 
Mount  Carmel — how  wicked  people  and  false  prophets 
were  denying  the  true  God  and  serving  idols ;  how  Eli- 
jah the  great  man  of  God  offered  them  his  challenge, 
and  said,  "  This  shall  be  the  test :  let  us  all  go  to  Mount 
Carmel  and  build  two  altars.  You  pray  to  your  gods 
and  I  will  pray  to  my  God.  The  God  who  answers 
by  fire  from  heaven  and  burns  up  the  sacrifice  on  the 
altar,  he  shall  be  God."  They  all  had  to  say  yes. 
Then  Elijah  gave  them  the  first  chance,  and  they 
prayed  and  cried  to  Baal,  and  cut  themselves  with 


50  Zhe  Boi?  3cB\XB 

knives  and  stones,  and  all  day  they  kept  this  prayer 
going  and  it  failed.  No  fire  came.  Then  Elijah  stand- 
ing alone  before  God  told  them,  to  make  it  sure,  to  dig 
a  trench,  a  deep  one,  all  about  the  altar,  to  fill  the 
trench  with  water,  to  pour  water  all  over  the  altar  and 
the  sacrifice.  They  were  astonished  at  his  orders  and 
his  faith.  When  it  was  all  made  as  hard  as  it  possibly 
could  be,  Elijah  fell  on  his  knees  and  prayed  to  God  to 
reveal  himself  and  to  destroy  the  false  gods,  to  send 
fire  from  heaven  before  all  the  people.  *  Immediately 
a  great  fire  came  from  the  skies  and  burned  the  sacrifice 
and  licked  up  every  drop  of  water  until  the  ground  and 
stones  were  all  parched  and  dry.  This  was  a  great 
triumph  for  God  and  the  good. 

How  Jesus  must  have  listened  to  this  story  of 
Carmel,  and  every  time  he  saw  it,  or  went  up  to  the 
hills  with  his  father  or  mother,  he  wanted  to  hear  it 
over  again.  Jesus  was  just  like  other  boys  in  this. 
He  liked  to  hear  stories  and  hear  them  over  and  over 
again.  They  must  have  been  especially  interesting  to 
hear  when  he  could  see  the  very  place  where  they  oc- 
curred. On  the  hill  or  in  the  garden  or  in  the  home  or 
wherever  he  was  he  found  joy  and  made  it  for  others. 
His  home  life  was  everything  to  him.  That  little 
house  in  Nazareth  was  the  center  of  his  world.  He 
loved  it  and  loved  everybody  in  it,  and  they  loved  him. 
God's  blessing  was  always  upon  that  home.  A  good 
boy  and  a  good  home  are  great  things. 


iDiFifir 

J^acing  XTemptation 

N  the  country  where  Jesus  hved  there 
were  many  lonely  places  which  they 
called  deserts,  because  they  were  so 
rocky  and  without  any  grass  or 
flow.ers  or  scarcely  any  trees,  just 
great  hills  and  mountains,  barren  all 
the  way  to  the  top.  On  the  sides  of  these  were  caves 
and  holes  for  wild  animals.  No  one  lived  in  these  des- 
ert places  and  no  one  very  near  them.  The  wild  beasts 
howled  and  the  eagles  screeched,  and  that  was  all  that 
broke  the  awful  silence.  This  was  not  a  very  pleas- 
ant place  to  go  to,  but  Jesus  went  one  day  when  he  was 
a  young  man  into  the  deepest  part  of  the  wilderness. 
He  probably  went  in  there  to  be  alone  by  himself  and 
to  think  about  what  he  was  to  do  in  order  to  help 
others  most  and  to  save  the  world.  He  was  not  afraid. 
Was  he  ever  afraid?  How  can  anybody  be  in  fear 
if  he  knows  that  God  is  always  with  him?  Jesus  knew 
this  and  always  had  the  courage  to  go  anywhere  or  do 
anything.     It  is  wonderful  to  live  that  way,  but  that  is 

SI 


52  the  3Soi?  3e6U0 

the  way  any  boy  can  live,  knowing  that  God  will  stand 
by  him  when  he  is  doing  right,  and  will  give  him 
strength  to  do  it.  Jesus  said  that  he  was  never  alone, 
even  in  this  dark  and  dismal  place.  He  could  not  go 
alone.    His  Father  was  always  with  him. 

But  there  is  another  person  in  our  world  and  in  the 
deserts  too.  Satan  is  everywhere,  doing  his  best  to 
make  us  forget  God  and  not  do  the  right.  He  came  to 
Jesus  just  as  soon  as  he  was  in  this  desert  place  and 
began  to  talk  to  him  as  if  he  was  his  friend,  telling  him 
what  he  ought  to  do.  Jesus  had  been  here  by  himself 
for  a  long  time  and  without  any  food,  and  of  course 
was  very  hungry.  Satan  said,  "  This  is  my  chance.  He 
is  almost  starved.  He  will  do  anything  now  to  get 
something  to  eat."  So  he  went  to  him  and  tried  to 
make  him  forget  that  God  was  going  to  care  for  him 
and  would  not  let  him  starve  or  really  want.  Satan 
said,  "  Now  is  your  opportunity  to  show  your  power 
and  provide  for  yourself.  If  you  are  the  Son  of  God 
stand  right  in  front  of  these  stones  and  command  them 
to  become  loaves  of  bread  so  that  you  can  satisfy  your 
hunger."  Then  Jesus  instantly  thought  of  his  trust 
in  his  Father,  and  that  he  ought  to  do  only  what  God 
said,  not  what  the  tempter  told  him  to  do.  So  he  re- 
plied, "  It  is  written  in  the  word  of  God  that  no  one 
ought  to  live  by  bread  only,  but  by  the  promises  and 
truth  of  God." 

This  temptation  was  an  utter  failure  for  Satan  and 


Jesus  Facing  Temptation" 


Ifaclno  temptation  53 

he  must  have  felt  it,  but  he  is  never  wilhng  to  give  up. 
He  is  always  determined  to  win.  So  he  led  Jesus  out 
and  into  the  city  and  climbed  to  a  high  part  of  the 
temple  and  said  to  him,  "  Now  is  the  time  and  this  is 
the  place  to  show  what  you  can  do.  Make  the  world 
believe  that  you  are  the  Son  of  God.  Just  stand  up 
here  at  this  great  height  where  the  people  can  see  you 
and  suddenly  astonish  them  by  leaping  off  and  coming 
down  in  their  midst  without  any  harm  to  yourself. 
Tell  them  that  the  angels  held  you."  Immediately 
Jesus  saw  through  the  scheme  of  Satan  again,  and 
boldly  answered,  "  I  will  not  do  it  because  it  is  not 
right  to  do  contrary  to  the  wish  of  God  and  try  him 
in  some  wrong  way. 

But  Satan  would  not  give  up  yet.  He  led  him  up  to 
the  summit  of  a  very  high  mountain,  and  told  him  to 
look  around  in  every  direction.  He  said,  "  Look  to  the 
north  and  the  south  and  the  east  and  the  west.  Behold 
all  the  nations  and  kingdoms  of  the  world."  Jesus 
looked  and  all  this  was  a  very  attractive  sight.  While 
he  was  seeing  it  the  tempter  said,  "  If  you  wull  give  up 
God  and  fall  down  right  here  and  worship  me,  I  will 
give  you  all  these  kingdoms  and  you  shall  be  ruler  of 
them  all.  You  have  the  power  and  they  will  recognize 
it.  There  is  something  more  to  your  life  than  to  an 
ordinary  man's  life,  and  the  world  will  be  yours  in 
this  way."  Again  Jesus  looked  and  said  as  he  stamped 
his  foot  and  pointed  his  hand  at  Satan,   "  Get  thee 


54  XTbe  IBo^  3e5U0 

behind  me  forever.  I  will  not  listen  to  you.  I  will 
only  give  myself  to  my  Father  in  heaven." 

Then  he  was  all  alone  again,  and  something  very 
strange  took  place.  Angels  came  quickly  from  heaven 
and  fed  him  and  cared  for  him  and  stayed  by  him. 
Was  that  so  strange?  No!  It  was  to  be  expected! 
It  was  God's  way!  Then  it  is  God's  way  now.  Be 
heroic  and  true  and  good  and  the  angels  will  not  be 
far  away  from  you.  Somehow  they  will  care  for 
you. 

Where  did  Jesus  learn  how  to  treat  Satan?  How 
did  he  get  ready  for  such  a  hard  trial  when  he  came  to 
be  a  young  man  ?  He  was  doing  the  same  way  when  he 
was  a  boy.  Every  day  and  wherever  he  was  he  met 
temptation  and  resisted  it.  He  was  all  ready  for  the 
great  crisis  in  his  life.  Any  boy  who  is  going  to  run 
a  race  must  practise.  He  must  run  a  little  farther 
and  a  little  faster  to-day  than  he  did  yesterday.  To- 
morrow he  must  do  better  than  he  did  to-day,  and 
when  the  great  hour  arrives,  and  he  is  to  do  his  best, 
he  wins.  Every  day  facing  temptation  and  being 
a  victor  makes  a  hero  when  the  hardest  time  comes. 

All  boys  have  their  temptations,  and  the  boy  Jesus 
must  have  had  his,  but  he  never  gave  in  to  them.  He 
was  always  boldly  facing  them  and  coming  away  con- 
queror. The  great  victories  are  not  on  the  battlefield 
or  fighting  Indians  or  wild  animals.  The  hardest 
struggle  anybody  has  ever  met  is  when  he  is  alone 


Ifadng  tTemptatlon  55 

with  Satan  to  tempt  him.  The  greatest  heroes  may 
never  have  shot  a  gun  or  held  a  sword  in  their  hand. 
Some  of  the  battlefield  fighters  have  fallen  right  down 
in  front  of  some  temptation.  The  man  in  India  who 
goes  into  the  jungle  and  hunts  elephants  might  be  a 
coward  in  a  plain  field  facing  just  an  ordinary  tempta- 
tion. A  man  in  India  shot  an  elephant  and  only 
wounded  him.  He  shot  him  again  and  that  only  gave 
him  more  rage.  He  tore  up  the  earth  and  then  came 
after  the  man,  but  that  man  alone  with  a  small  tree  be- 
tween him  and  his  enemy,  with  a  gun  and  a  knife  kept 
the  elephant  off  until  help  came,  and  finally  killed  him. 
That  same  man  said  many  times  he  had  been  cowardly 
and  given  right  up  to  some  small  temptation.  The 
bravest  boy  in  the  world  is  the  one  who  fights  his  temp- 
tations and  fights  to  win.  He  is  ready  to  stand  the 
more  difficult  battle  when  he  is  a  man. 

When  Jesus  was  a  boy  he  had  wonderful  control  of 
himself.  He  would  not  allow  himself  to  become  angry 
and  say  ugly  things  and  do  injury  to  others  and  to 
himself.  He  never  had  to  excuse  himself  because  he 
had  lost  his  temper  or  hurt  some  one  or  destroyed 
the  happiness  of  his  home  or  broken  up  the  game. 
How  quickly  most  boys  get  angry  and  fly  into  a  rage ! 
They  think  it  manly  to  fight  and  defend  themselves. 
This  is  not  self-defense.  It  is  self-destruction.  They 
are  just  doing  what  Satan  wants  them  to  do,  and  that 
means  their  ruin.     Jesus  stood  against  all  these,  and 


56  Z\)C  BOI?  3C0U0 

never  allowed  any  ill  temper  to  mar  his  heart  or  his 
face.  He  learned  the  greatest  lesson  of  life — self-con- 
trol. This  was  his  way,  not  only  with  temper,  but  in 
everything.  He  controlled  his  appetite.  He  never  ate 
so  much  that  he  suffered  afterward  because  of  it.  His 
health  was  everything,  and  he  knew  that  failure  to  con- 
trol his  eating  would  ruin  his  body.  When  the  boy 
comes  to  be  a  man  he  must  bear  the  penalty  of  over- 
eating or  any  other  sin.  H  he  resists  temptation  health 
and  happiness  follow  him  into  manhood.  It  is  sin  just 
the  same  to  yield  to  temptation  and  destroy  the  health 
of  the  body  as  it  is  to  kill  yourself  or  to  kill  another. 
Many  failures  in  life  can  be  traced  back  to  the  boyhood 
days  of  giving  in  to  temptation  in  some  form.  The 
seeds  are  planted  in  the  spring  and  we  gather  the 
harvest  in  the  summer  and  autumn.  These  other  seeds 
are  planted  in  the  spring  too,  in  boy  life,  and  the 
harvest  will  surely  come  later.  It  is  a  great  thing  for 
a  boy  to  look  forward  to  a  garden  instead  of  a  desert. 
The  boy  Jesus  met  the  temptations  which  other  boys 
meet,  but  he  stood  up  against  them  like  a  hero  and 
refused  even  to  listen  to  them.  He  walked  away  and 
entered  the  path  of  right  and  went  straight  on. 


%ivinQ  the  XTtutb 

NE  clay  when  they  were  making  that 
long  journey  from  Nazareth  to  Je- 
rusalem they  passed  by  a  strange-look- 
ing tomb — a  grave  out  in  the  field  and 
fenced  off  by  itself.  His  father  must 
have  pointed  it  out  to  Jesus  and  told 
him  a  strange  story  about  it.  He  had  heard  it  often 
before,  but  each  time  they  repeated  it  to  him  it  was 
more  interesting.  It  was  one  of  his  favorite  stories 
and  he  could  not  hear  it  too  often.  It  was  about  a 
boy  whose  life  was  so  noble  and  so  wonderful.  Un- 
doubtedly they  stopped  at  this  sepulcher  and  rested 
while  Jesus  looked  at  it — every  part  of  it,  and  was  so 
anxious  to  hear  its  history  when  they  told  him  it  was 
the  grave  of  Joseph  after  whom  his  own  father  was 
named.  This  was  the  very  ground  over  which  the 
boy  Joseph  walked  and  played.  These  were  the  very 
hillsides  down  which  he  ran,  and  here  by  the  road  he 
picked  the  flowers  and  played  his  games.  They  pointed 
across  the  field  just  a  short  distance  and  showed  where 

57 


58  ^be  Bo^  3C6U0 

the  famous  well  was  which  Joseph's  father  dug  so 
deep  and  made  so  solid  that  here  through  all  the 
hundreds  of  years  the  inhabitants  and  travelers  had 
quenched  their  thirst.  Jesus  must  have  been  enthu- 
siastic right  away  and  said,  "  Tell  me  again  the  story 
of  the  boy  Joseph  while  we  sit  here  in  the  shadow  of 
his  tomb  and  rest."  How  intently  he  must  have 
listened,  and  imagined  he  could  almost  see  the  boy  in 
the  field,  that  boy  whose  life  he  had  always  admired 
so  much !  The  boy  who  was  the  youngest  in  a  family 
of  brothers  and  whom  his  father  had  loved  so  dearly — 
he  was  so  sincere  and  true!  He  was  always  trying  to 
please  his  father,  and  his  father  was  always  trying  to 
do  something  for  him.  He  gave  him  a  beautiful  coat 
made  out  of  many  colors,  and  made  out  of  his  father's 
sacrifice  and  love.  One  day  they  sent  him  a  long  dis- 
tance from  the  home  to  that  part  of  the  fields  to  see 
his  older  brothers  who  were  there  watching  the  flocks 
of  sheep  and  cattle.  He  carried  them  some  good  things 
to  eat  and  a  message  from  their  home.  When  they 
saw  him  they  became  jealous  of  him  and  said  their 
father  thought  too  much  of  him  and  gave  him  more 
than  he  did  any  other  one  of  them.  So,  instead  of 
appreciating  the  kindness,  and  the  food  which  he 
brought,  they  began  wickedly  to  make  a  plan  to 
get  rid  of  him,  and  finally  decided  to  drop  him  down  in 
a  deep  well — an  old  empty  well — and  cover  it  over  with 
a  large  flat  stone,  leaving  him  to  die.    What  a  shudder 


Jesus  by  thk  Old  Wem. 


Xtving  tbe  ^rutb  59 

this  must  have  shot  through  the  tender  heart  of  a  boy 
like  Jesus !  It  did  not  seem  possible  to  him.  His  look 
had  a  question  mark  in  it,  but  his  father  assured  him 
that  this  was  their  murderous  thought  and  desire. 
Suddenly  they  espied  in  the  distance  a  caravan  of 
travelers  and  traders  coming.  One  of  them  said, 
"  This  will  be  better  for  him  than  the  pit.  Save  his 
life,  but  get  rid  of  him  just  the  same  by  selling  him  to 
these  strangers,  and  they  will  take  him  as  their  slave- 
boy  away  down  to  Egypt,  and  we  will  never  hear  of 
him  again  or  be  troubled  with  him."  They  all  agreed 
to  this  plan  and  he  was  sold  and  carried  away.  But 
what  could  they  say  to  little  Joseph's  father?  How 
could  they  explain  his  not  coming  back?  "  Oh,"  one 
of  them  suggested,  "  that  is  easy  to  do.  Kill  a  lamb  and 
cover  this  coat  with  the  blood,  and  tell  father  that  a 
bear  or  a  lion  must  have  eaten  him  up  on  the  way  back. 
This  was  a  falsehood  and  the  breaking  of  a  father's 
heart. 

Now  it  was  time  to  start  on  their  journey  again, 
and  Jesus,  just  like  other  boys,  said  "  No,  don't  go  yet. 
Finish  the  story.  Tell  me  the  other  part  of  it."  And 
his  father  said,  "  Come  on.  We  will  tell  you  as  we 
go."  Then  he  related  that  which  was  so  thrilling: 
how  Joseph  rose  from  a  slave-boy  in  Egypt  and  out  of 
the  life  in  a  prison,  to  be  the  ruler  of  all  that  country; 
how  everybody  loved  him  and  almost  worshiped  him 
because  he  was  so  true.    His  wisdom  and  his  character 


6o  ^be  Boi?  3e0U0 

lifted  him  to  the  throne.  Then  came  the  great  famine, 
and  out  of  his  storehouses  the  corn  was  given  to  his 
own  brothers  who  came  so  far  to  get  it  and  keep  them- 
selves and  others  from  starving.  They  did  not  know 
Joseph,  but  he  knew  them.  He  was  kind  to  them  and 
at  last  told  them  who  he  was.  Then  he  sent  for  his 
old  father  and  brought  him  into  the  palace  to  live  with 
him. 

Jesus  loved  that  kind  of  life,  and  above  everything 
else  he  thought  a  boy  ought  to  be  true — not  only  to 
speak  the  truth,  but  to  live  it — to  be  the  truth.  This  was 
one  of  the  startling  things  he  said  about  himself  when 
he  came  into  manhood.  "  I  am  the  truth."  His  idea  of 
the  right  kind  of  a  boy  was  one  who  lo\ed  the  truth — 
one  who  could  always  be  depended  upon,  who  was 
sincere  down  to  the  lowest  corner  of  his  heart.  Jesus 
could  not  understand  how  those  brothers  of  Joseph 
could  be  so  cruel  or  so  false.  He  hated  a  lie  or  any- 
thing that  was  deceptive.  He  would  rather  die  than 
utter  the  shadow  of  untruth.  To  be  true  is  the  ideal 
for  every  boy's  life — not  to  appear  and  to  seem  and  to 
be  a  sham,  but  to  live  the  truth,  to  be  a  genuine  boy. 
Sometimes  a  boy  may  have  fashionable  clothes,  he  may 
be  polite,  and  yet  be  a  sham.  Dress  does  not  make  a 
boy.  Politeness  is  good,  but  purity  is  better.  The  boy 
who  does  not  tell  the  truth  and  live  the  truth  is  walking 
on  the  quicksand,  and  every  minute  he  breathes  he  is 
sinking  deeper  into  ruin.    The  only  solid  foundation 


XivltiG  tbe  ZIrutb    ,  6i 

in  the  world  is  the  truth.  Even  if  you  are  sold  as  a 
slave-boy  and  go  to  prison  and  suffer  persecution, 
remember  every  Joseph  comes  to  a  throne.  Every 
boy's  success  and  every  boy's  character  must  rest  upon 
the  truth. 

Whenever  they  saw  the  boy  Jesus  they  said,  "  There 
goes  the  truth."  When  he  saw  a  boy  trying  to  make  a 
trade  with  one  of  his  companions  and  cheating  him  in 
the  bargain,  that  was  enough  to  show  him  what  kind  of 
a  boy  he  was  and  to  warn  him  to  keep  him  and  his 
spirit  out  of  his  life.  A  cheating  boy  is  a  dangerous 
associate.     He  could  find  no  friend  in  Jesus. 

When  he  went  by  a  shop  in  Nazareth  and  listened 
to  the  storekeepers  saying  that  which  was  false  about 
their  goods  and  charging  a  price  far  more  than  the  real 
value,  his  heart  always  carried  a  protest  against  it, 
and  he  felt  that  such  a  way  of  doing  business  was  far 
from  God's  plan,  and  must  receive  his  condemnation. 
He  knew  that  the  laws  of  his  world  would  work,  and 
no  boy  or  man  could  make  anything  by  robbing 
another.  He  must  always  be  the  loser  in  the  end,  for 
the  only  success  is  in  the  pathway  of  truth. 

Jesus  saw  many  times  a  familiar  sight  in  the  street 
— a  funeral  procession.  He  could  hear  the  sad  mourn- 
ing cry  a  long  way  off.  Presently  appeared  the  slowly 
moving  procession.  At  the  head  was  the  richly  orna- 
mented box  holding  the  dead  body  of  one  of  the  Naza- 
reth merchants.     It  was  carried  on  the  shoulders  of 


62  ^be  Boi?  3e6u^ 

four  men,  and  followed  by  a  crowd  of  mourners 
making  very  strange  noises  and  going  through  strange 
motions.  As  they  passed  Jesus,  he  must  have  said, 
"  What  is  the  use  of  such  a  life?  He  has  just  lived  for 
himself.  He  has  been  trying  to  take  the  advantage  of 
everybody.  He  has  carried  falsehood  on  his  lips  and 
falsehood  in  his  heart.  The  only  thing  he  did  was  to 
make  riches  and  keep  them.  Now  they  are  of  no  value 
to  him.  What  good  did  he  ever  receive  from  them? 
They  have  cursed  his  life  and  ruined  his  soul.  The 
only  life  is  the  true  life.  This  is  the  only  riches  and 
success.  This  must  be  my  life."  Jesus  tried  to  learn 
a  lesson  from  everything.  When  he  was  a  boy  he  kept 
his  eyes  and  his  mind  and  his  heart  open.  He  saw 
everything  and  was  interested  in  it,  and  pushed  his 
whole  soul  against  it.  He  tried  to  make  it  bring  some- 
thing of  truth  into  his  life  and  his  world. 

A  crowd  is  gathering  down  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
in  the  open  space.  Everybody  is  coming  that  way. 
Jesus  with  some  others  hastens  down  to  see  the  cause 
of  the  excitement.  It  is  the  wedding  day  of  one  of  the 
young  men  in  the  town.  He  is  in  the  center  of  a  crowd, 
and  they  are  singing  and  shouting  and  dancing  about 
him.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the  journey  they  are  to 
make  to  the  house  of  his  bride.  It  will  take  them 
several  hours  to  go  a  very  short  distance,  because  they 
go  slowly  and  stop  often.  They  work  themselves  into 
all  manner  of  motions  and  complete  exhaustion.    They 


Xtving  tbc  ^rutb  63 

shout  and  sway  back  and  forth  and  sing  and  dance. 
They  scatter  flowers  and  l^ranches  and  perfumes. 
They  wave  all  sorts  of  garments,  and  at  last  place  the 
bridegroom  on  a  richly  decorated  horse.  Then  the 
crowd  surrounds  him  and  increases  its  wild  manifesta- 
tions of  friendship  and  joy.  Jesus  watches  all  this  and 
the  coming  of  the  virgins,  and  he  follows  the  proces- 
sion to  the  bride's  house.  He  remembers  it  all,  so 
that  when  he  has  grown  to  be  a  man  he  uses  this  very 
illustration  to  teach  one  of  his  most  solemn  truths; 
but  the  boy  himself  learned  one  of  his  greatest  les- 
sons as  he  Avatched  these  people  and  their  actions  and 
heard  their  words  of  insincerity.  He  saw  that  this  was 
not  friendship  and  truth.  They  were  doing  this  almost 
entirely  in  pretense,  and  getting  what  they  could  out  of 
it  for  themselves.  He  saw  this  was  all  on  the  surface — 
a  show,  and  not  real  love  and  life.  Most  of  these  en- 
thusiastic followers  were  only  pretenders.  Jesus  stood 
and  looked  over  it  all  and  discovered  its  hollowness. 
He  said  a  friend  must  first  of  all  be  true.  Everything 
in  the  world  and  in  human  life  depends  upon  that  great 
reality.  Everything  is  failure  apart  from  it.  He 
walked  away  saying  to  himself,  "  The  best  thing  about 
a  boy  is  the  truth.    At  any  cost  I  will  be  true." 


IHelpfna  ©tbets 


NE  of  the  sights  famihar  to  Jesus 
when  he  was  a  boy  was  the  company 
of  lepers,  and  the  leper  alone  by  him- 
self in  his  sad  condition  and  suffer- 
ing from  that  dreadful  disease  which 
no  doctor  could  cure.  He  saw  them 
huddled  together  and  crouching  against  the  wall  in 
the  village.  He  saw  them  upon  the  roadside  in  the 
country,  compelled  to  stay  in  their  own  companionship 
and  separated  from  others.  He  saw  them  with  their 
faces  almost  shapeless,  ears  gone,  noses  gone,  chin 
gone.  Their  feet  might  be  only  stumps,  and  their 
hands  fingerless  and  sore.  They  were  almost  too  hor- 
rible to  look  at.  He  heard  them  give  their  pitiful,  de- 
spairing cry  for  help  and  sympathy  and  food.  His 
boyish  heart  went  out  with  such  a  longing  anxiety  to 
bring  some  relief  to  them.  Others  passed  on  and  paid 
no  attention.  Some  wicked  boys  mocked  them  and 
tried  to  imitate  their  crying  and  their  looks,  but  this 
hurt  the  heart  of  one  boy  more  than  it  hurt  the  lepers. 
64 


IKelpino  ©tbera  65 

Jesus  gave  them  anything  he  could  to  help  and  sym- 
pathize with  them.  He  was  never  afraid  to  come  near 
them.  He  was  their  friend  and  many  of  them  knew 
him,  and  their  world  was  brighter  because  he  lived  in 
it.  When  he  grew  to  be  a  man  and  to  do  his  wonderful 
work  as  the  Saviour  of  men,  these  poor  afflicted  people 
received  many  a  tender  touch  from  him.  Many  of 
them  were  healed  of  their  leprosy  by  him.  The  brave 
heart  of  the  boy  just  ached  to  help  those  who  needed 
it  so  very  much.  One  of  the  noblest  parts  of  a  boy's 
life  is  the  tender  touch  and  loving  sympathy,  that 
living,  longing  desire  and  determination  to  help  every- 
body, and  especially  the  lowly  one  who  needs  it  most. 
The  leper  was  cast  out  and  despised  by  most  other  peo- 
ple, but  the  boy  Jesus  went  out  of  his  way  to  get  near 
them  and  to  do  everything  he  possibly  could  for  them. 
He  was  just  the  same  in  relation  to  any  others  who 
needed  his  love  and  his  life. 

He  saw  in  that  country  very  many  who  were  blind — 
so  different  from  our  part  of  the  world.  We  have  very 
few  whose  eyes  are  dead  to  the  world  and  who  must 
always  live  in  the  dark.  This  is  one  of  the  most  piti- 
able things  which  can  come  to  human  life.  How  we  all 
dread  it.  We  would  have  almost  anything  else  rather 
than  to  be  blind,  never  to  see  the  flowers,  the  trees, 
the  birds,  or  most  of  all,  the  faces  of  our  loved  ones; 
but  this  was  an  ordinary  condition  in  the  land  where 
the  boy  Jesus   lived,    and   is   yet   to-day — very   little 


^^  trbe  Boi?  3C0U0 

children  without  any  eyes,  boys  and  girls  feeling  their 
way  about  through  a  world  of  night,  and  grown  people 
who  are  blind,  at  almost  every  turn.  Jesus  never  saw 
one  of  these  but  his  heart  gave  them  its  best  sympathy, 
and  at  every  opportunity  his  hand  gave  them  its  best 
assistance.  He  watched  for  his  chance.  If  they  were 
in  danger  he  ran  like  the  wind  to  reach  them  and  rescue 
them.  If  they  were  about  to  be  run  against  on  the 
street  he  hastened  to  lead  them  to  a  place  of  safety.  If 
any  of  the  blind  wanted  to  go  to  some  place  and  could 
not  find  their  way,  Jesus  would  drop  what  he  was 
doing  or  delay  his  errand  or  give  up  his  play  to  take 
them  by  the  hand  and  put  them  in  the  right  path  and 
help  them  on  the  way.  Every  step  of  the  way  he  was 
saying  to  himself,  "  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  could  give  him 
eyes,  but  I  can  anyway  be  eyes  for  him."  When  Jesus 
came  to  the  hour  of  his  miracles  and  his  divine  power, 
what  a  joy  it  must  have  been  to  do  just  what  his  boy's 
heart  so  often  wished  to  be  able  to  do!  Some  of  the 
most  wonderful  moments  in  Jesus'  life  were  the  mo- 
ments when  he  touched  the  eyes  of  the  blind  people  and 
made  them  see.  His  heart  was  as  happy  as  theirs,  be- 
cause it  was  his  greatest  joy  to  bring  relief  to  others. 

Possibly  something  like  this  occurred:  One  day  he 
met  an  old  man  on  the  road  between  Nazareth  and 
Cana,  and  the  old  man  bending  over  and  blind  was 
feeling  his  way  along  the  path  of  his  sad  life.  Jesus 
stopped  by  him  in  answer  to  his  appeal  for  help.    Jesus 


Jesus  Helping  Others 


IKelping  ©tbere  67 

always  stopped  at  the  cry  of  a  human  heart.  The  old 
man  did  not  expect  to  receive  what  Jesus  gave  him 
for,  to  his  amazement,  and  the  astonishment  of  the 
others  who  saw  it,  Jesus  puts  one  hand  in  the  trembling 
hand  of  the  old  man,  and  his  other  hand  on  the 
wrinkled  face,  and  told  him  to  look  once  more  and  see 
his  world,  and  instantly  his  eyes  received  their  vision, 
and  he  forgot  to  look  at  other  things,  but  gazed  into 
the  face  of  Jesus  and  listened  to  his  voice,  and  then  he 
said,  "  You  are  the  one.  I  know  you.  I  remember  it, 
the  day  you  helped  me  when  I  was  in  trouble  in  the 
market-place  in  Nazareth  years  ago.  You  were  a  boy 
then,  but  it  is  the  same  voice  and  the  same  touch  and 
the  same  heart."  And  it  was.  Jesus  remembered  that 
day  too,  and  remembered  that  it  was  one  of  the  most 
joyful  days  of  his  life,  because  he  had  helped  some- 
body else,  and  some  one  who  needed  it  very  much. 
This  is  the  way  for  any  boy  to  make  the  world  bright 
and  beautiful  for  himself  and  for  others.  The  way  to 
get  joy  is  to  give  joy.  The  way  to  be  loved  is  to  be 
loving.  The  way  to  help  a  blind  man  most  is  to  give 
him  back  his  eyes.  The  next  best  way  is  to  be  eyes  for 
him.  Any  boy  can  do  this,  and  this  is  the  most  won- 
derful thing  in  a  boy's  life,  right  next  to  working  a 
miracle. 

It  does  not  take  much  effort  to  help  somebody  else, 
but  it  takes  the  best  in  a  boy.  The  shepherds  often 
had  to  bring  their  sheep — and  sometimes  great  flocks 


6S  the  BO^  3C6U0 

of  them — through  the  streets  of  Nazareth.  It  was  not 
always  an  easy  task.  There  were  so  many  things  to 
break  them  in  sections  and  drive  them  in  different 
directions,  a  caravan  of  camels  or  a  procession  or 
another  drove  of  sheep.  Then  they  were  scattered, 
and  the  difficulty  began.  The  shepherd  was  leading 
them,  because  he  always  went  ahead  of  his  sheep, 
and  never  drove  them.  Now  he  would  call  to  this  one 
and  now  to  the  other  and  then  to  his  dog.  He  was  in 
great  trouble.  Then  some  boys  along  the  street  in- 
creased the  scattering  of  the  sheep  by  throwing  a 
stick  or  stone  amongst  them  or  making  some  noise  to 
frighten  them  some  more.  Here  was  another  good 
time  to  help  some  one,  and  the  boy  Jesus  came  to  the 
rescue.  He  ran  around  this  side  and  brought  them  to- 
gether, then  into  the  side  street  and  drove  back  those 
running  there.  He  kept  them  together  until  they  were 
safe  on  the  country  road  and  near  the  pasture  field. 

He  went  often  on  the  hillsides  with  the  shepherds 
and  was  interested  in  hearing  their  stories  and  their 
songs  and  watching  them  in  their  love  for  the  sheep. 
They  knew  each  one  of  them  by  name.  He  may  have 
been  out  with  them  during  the  night,  as  all  night  long 
the  shepherd  protected  his  flock  from  robbers  and  wild 
beasts,  and  let  them  sleep  under  the  skies  and  heaven's' 
covering.  In  the  night  Jesus  listened  to  the  strange 
music  of  the  shepherds,  as  that  weird  whistle  sounded 
over  the  hills  and  across  the  valleys,  and  made  sleep 


IKelpinG  ©tbers  69 

sweeter  for  the  sheep  and  the  night  shorter  for  the 
shepherds.  They  Hked  the  company  of  Jesus.  He 
helped  them  and  learned  much  from  their  life — great 
lessons  which  he  never  forgot  and  a  great  desire  to  be 
like  them  in  his  relation  to  others.  So  much  did  this 
mean  to  him  that  he  even  came  to  call  himself  when  he 
was  preaching  the  gospel  "  the  good  Shepherd."  That 
holy  desire  to  protect  and  help  and  care  for  and  save 
the  people  controlled  his  whole  life.  One  of  the  shep- 
herds may  have  told  him,  when  he  was  a  boy,  about 
how  he  lost  one  of  his  lambs  one  night  and  how  he 
searched  and  searched  for  it,  and  at  last  brought  all  the 
rest  of  his  flock  in  the  fold  and  then  went  out  in  the 
night  and  tried  again  to  find  it.  All  night  he  wandered 
in  the  v^ilderness  and  over  the  rocks  and  through  the 
brush.  He  called  and  called  and  prayed,  and  it  seemed 
to  be  only  a  failure.  A  hungry  lion  must  have  devoured 
his  lamb.  But  he  could  not  give  it  up ;  so  he  pushed 
his  way  straight  into  the  darkness  and  the  danger, 
when  to  his  great  joy  he  discovered  the  little  lamb 
caught  in  a  thicket,  in  a  clump  of  thorns.  It  was  bleed- 
ing and  almost  dead,  but  he  soon  rescued  it  and  took 
it  in  his  strong  arms  and  carried  it  safely  to  shelter 
and  to  life.  To  save  was  the  object  of  his  whole  life, 
and  he  began  to  show  it  when  he  was  a  boy.  To  help 
somebody  was  the  boy's  motto,  and  afterward  to  save 
everybody  was  the  Divine  man's  life. 


in 

Bfrbs  anb  jFIowets 

ANY  happy  hours  Jesus  passed  in  the 
fields  looking  at  the  flowers  and 
watching  the  sheep  and  hearing  the 
-  singing  of  the  birds,  and  taking  every- 
thing of  beauty  and  health  into  his 
life.  The  place  where  the  red  lilies 
covered  the  ground  was  attractive  to  him.  and  he  al- 
ways had  to  stop  and  pick  one,  and  then  look  down  into 
its  heart  and  share  its  joy  and  purity.  He  must  have 
thought  of  them  often  in  his  boy  life,  for  when  he 
grew  to  be  a  man  he  said,  "  Just  look  at  the  lilies 
of  the  field,  how  they  grow.  They  do  not  work. 
They  do  not  get  worried,  but  God  clothes  them  in  their 
beautiful  dress,  so  that  not  even  the  richest  king  can 
wear  such  royal  robes."  He  learned  this  all  through 
his  boyhood  days,  and  he  lived  just  as  they  did,  trust- 
ful and  obedient,  and  grew  to  be  the  perfect  flower  of 
manhood.  He  always  kept  his  eyes  open  and  saw 
everything  and  learned  something  from  it. 

He  one  day  saw  a  hen  and  her  chickens.     He  stood 

and   watched  her  taking  care  of  her  little  children, 
70 


Jesus  in  the  Fjklus 


®ir^0  anb  3f lowers  71 

The  larg-e  family  was  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  her. 
She  tried  to  feed  them  and  keep  them  near  her,  but 
they  were  always  running  away  and  getting  into  some 
mischief.  While  he  stood  watching  her  and  laughing 
at  her  failure  in  keeping  them  where  she  wanted  them, 
suddenly  she  turned  her  head  one  side,  and  then 
called  as  loudly  as  she  could  to  every  little  one  to  come 
quickly  and  get  under  her  wings.  She  seemed  to  be 
almost  wild  in  her  anxiety  to  get  them  all  huddled  be- 
neath her  feathers.  Every  second  was  a  minute  to  her. 
They  knew  what  it  meant  and  pushed  their  way  into 
this  wonderful  place  of  safety.  What  was  the  trouble 
and  the  cause  of  all  this  fright?  There  was  a  great 
ugly  hawk  hovering  just  above  them  in  the  sky.  That 
mother  hen  had  seen  her  enemy  when  he  was  just  a 
black  speck  in  the  sky.  She  knew  he  was  circling 
above  her  little  ones  and  with  every  circle  coming  down 
nearer  and  nearer  to  them,  and  then  like  an  arrow 
would  shoot  straight  downward  upon  some  of  her 
chicken  children  and  kill  them.  Jesus  must  have  be- 
come almost  as  anxious  as  she  was,  and  said  when 
he  discovered  the  danger,  "  I  will  not  let  him  get 
them,"  because  this  was  so  fixed  in  his  mind  that  when 
he  came  to  teach  the  world  his  lessons  he  said,  "  How 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together, 
even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings." 
His  saving  life  meant  something  like  that. 

When  he  was  a  boy  he  must  have  loved  to  get  away 


72  ^be  Boi^  3e0U0 

from  the  village  and  out  on  the  hills  and  by  the  streams 
and  in  the  woods  and  upon  the  rocks.  Every  boy  likes 
that.  The  more  wild  it  is,  the  more  pleasure  there  is 
in  it.  He  went  on  these  trips  with  some  of  his  friends. 
They  caught  sight  of  a  fox.  They  began  to  chase  him 
toward  a  corner,  and  in  trying  to  catch  him  one  went 
this  way  another  that  way.  Each  one  ran  his  best 
and  played  his  sharpest  game  on  that  fox,  but  the  fox 
was  a  sly  one  and  watched  his  chance  too.  He  kept 
his  eyes  straight  toward  one  place.  At  last  they  thought 
they  had  him  and  were  just  ready  to  shout,  when  he 
darted  into  an  unseen  hole  in  the  side  of  the  hill  at  the 
foot  of  an  old  tree.  When  he  went  in  the  last  thing  he 
seemed  to  do  was  to  turn  his  nose  around  and  laugh  at 
them.  He  was  home  and  safe.  Jesus  afterward  in 
life  remembered  this  so  well  that  he  said,  "  The  foxes 
have  holes,  but  the  Saviour  of  men  has  no  place  to 
lay  his  head."  The  fox  had  a  home,  and  in  that  respect 
was  better  off  than  Jesus  was  when  he  was  a  man  and 
preaching  his  gospel. 

Most  boys  do  not  see  anything  as  they  should  do, 
but  they  only  look  at  things  and  never  learn  from  them 
or  remember  them.  Two  boys  see  the  sunset.  One  of 
them  looks  at  it  so  long  and  so  well  that  he  becomes 
an  artist  and  paints  it.  The  other  boy  only  saw  some 
stray  clouds  and  ordinary  colors,  and  it  had  no  rela- 
tion to  his  life.  It  is  a  wonderful  part  of  life  to  be 
able  to  see,  not  just  look  but  look  through,  and  see 


36irt)0  an^  3flower0  73 

what  others  do  not  see.  To  use  what  has  come  to  your 
eyes  and  think  about  what  you  see  makes  your  world 
larger  and  brighter  and  makes  you  larger  and  brighter 
too.  Jesus  loved  everything  his  heavenly  Father  had 
made.  That  made  him  love  his  world  and  delight 
to  be  out  in  it.  He  watched  the  birds  as  they  built 
their  nests  and  stood  on  the  limbs  and  sang  their  songs. 
It  was  his  music  and  helped  to  make  the  joy  of  his  life. 
The  last  thing  he  would  think  of  would  be  to  destroy 
their  nests.  That  is  the  last  thing  any  boy  should  think 
of.  To  rob  the  birds'  nests  and  break  up  their  little 
home  and  break  their  little  hearts,  is  too  cruel  a  sport 
for  any  boy  to  engage  in.  Jesus  watched  them  bring 
the  sticks  and  lay  them  in  the  narrow  crotch  of  the 
tree,  then  bring  the  smaller  pieces  and  splinters,  and 
afterward  the  bits  of  leaves  and  grass,  and  finally 
the  feathers,  and  place  them  so  skilfully  in  that  circle, 
while  keeping  it  hollow  in  the  center,  and  then  smooth- 
ing it  all  out  by  rubbing  their  own  feathery  breasts 
around  it  again  and  again.  That  is  such  a  marvelous 
piece  of  work  that  even  a  boy  could  not  do  it.  A  bird 
can  do  what  a  boy  could  not  do.  Even  a  man  can  build 
a  house,  but  must  leave  the  bird  to  build  her  own  nest. 
Jesus  watched  them  making  their  home  for  the 
little  birds  and  saw  them  flying  about  so  free  and 
happy.  Their  breath  was  a  song.  He  wondered  and 
thought.  He  never  forgot  it,  for  in  other  years  he 
said  to  a  great  crowd  of  people,  "  Listen ;  watch  the 


74  ^be  Boi^  3e0U0 

birds  and  live  in  their  world.  They  are  not  worried 
and  always  fretting.  They  live  so  happy  and  so  peace- 
ful. They  do  not  gather  into  barns  and  storehouses 
a  great  quantity  of  food,  but  each  day  your  heavenly 
Father  feeds  them.  You  are  better  than  the  birds  and 
he  will  care  for  you  too." 

The  boy  Jesus  carried  the  music  of  his  world  in  his 
heart.  His  was  always  a  smiling  face  and  a  happy 
heart.  No  boy  ever  knew  how  to  laugh  as  well  as  he. 
He  was  skilled  above  all  others  in  this.  It  must  have 
made  others  happy  to  hear  him  laugh.  He  had  such 
a  cheerful  disposition  that  everybody  liked  to  be  with 
him.  This  is  the  kind  of  boys  we  like  to  be  with  and 
call  our  friends.  Nobody  likes  a  sour  boy.  Everybody 
wants  a  companion  who  knows  how  to  laugh  and  is 
always  looking  on  the  bright  side  and  running  over 
with  good  cheer.  All  nature  smiled  for  Jesus  and  he 
smiled  back.  The  boy  who  looks  like  a  cup  of  vinegar 
or  a  little  corner  of  a  thunder-cloud  is  the  one  whom 
every  other  boy  keeps  at  a  distance ;  but  a  cheerful, 
happy  boy  who  loves  his  world,  makes  a  good  time 
everywhere  and  out  of  everything,  is  the  one  whom 
others  like  to  get  near  and  to  rub  against.  Jesus  was 
that  kind  of  a  boy.  His  face  was  the  home  of  smiles, 
radiant  and  beautiful  with  the  light  of  heaven  upon  it, 
but  he  remembered  the  great  lessons  of  life  and  saw 
them  in  everything  and  thrust  them  deep  into  his  own 
life.    He  pushed  these  great  truths  into  others. 


®lr^0  an^  fflowcrs  75 

He  must  have  been  very  anxious  to  get  to  the  sea- 
shore and  to  see  that  great  stretch  of  water  without  any 
other  shore.  He  had  heard  about  it,  and  from  the  high- 
est hill  back  of  Nazareth  he  had  seen  what  it  was 
in  the  distance.  How  interesting  it  must  have  been 
for  him  when  his  father  took  him  on  that  journey  from 
their  home  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea !  Along  the  road- 
way are  very  many  interesting  things  to  see.  All  these 
helped  to  shorten  the  way  for  Jesus,  but  when  they 
came  around  Mount  Carmel,  and  heard  the  roar  of  the 
waves,  he  could  hardly  wait  to  get  there  and  see  what 
he  had  dreamed  about.  A  storm  was  on  and  this  made 
it  more  interesting  and  exciting  than  it  would  have 
been  otherwise.  The  breakers  were  rolling  in  like 
small  mountains  of  water.  The  huge  rocks  were  being 
pounded  by  this  mighty  hammer.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
sea  in  its  rage  would  break  through  the  barriers 
and  run  wild  over  the  land.  This  ceaseless  thunder 
and  wonderful  expanse  of  water  was  something  new 
for  Jesus,  and  always  remained  in  his  mind,  for  long 
afterward  he  told  a  story  of  the  storm  and  two  men 
who  had  built  their  houses  on  the  seashore.  One  of 
them  built  his  house  on  the  solid  rocks,  and  the  foun- 
dation was  so  secure  that  the  winds  howled  about  it 
and  the  storm  in  its  fury  and  madness  beat  upon  it, 
but  it  could  not  be  moved.  After  the  waves  had  done 
their  work  it  stood  unharmed  and  unshaken.  The 
other  man  built  his  house  on  the  sand  of  the  shore — a 


76  Z\)c  Boi?  3e0U0 

shallow,  moving  foundation.  When  the  storm  came 
upon  his  house  it  fell  in  a  great  heap  of  ruins.  Of 
course  it  would  fall.  Everybody  expected  that  it 
would,  foolish  man!  Jesus  said  that  was  just  what 
men  were  doing  often  in  life.  They  hear  the  truth 
but  do  not  build  upon  it.  The  storms  easily  wreck  the 
house.  The  man  who  builds  on  a  rock  is  the  safe  and 
successful  man. 

The  boy  who  looks  at  his  world  and  learns  to  love  it 
and  gathers  life's  lessons  out  of  every  part  of  it,  lives 
in  it  just  as  the  boy  Jesus  did,  and  that  makes  a  better 
world  and  a  better  boy. 


''Zhis  is  mil?  Beloveb  Son" 


HE  time  had  come!  The  great  secret 
must  be  out !  Jesus  had  hved  his  boy 
hfe  and  grown  to  be  a  young  man. 
Now  the  world  was  to  know  the 
meaning  of  his  wonderful  life  and 
discover  him  to  be  more  than  others. 
When  Jesus  had  reached  this  hour  in  his  life  he  went 
from  his  home  a  long  distance  through  the  hills  and 
across  the  valleys  to  the  river  Jordan. 

Here  he  found  a  crowd  of  people  and  great  excite- 
ment. Something  very  unusual  was  happening. 
Thousands  of  people  were  here  from  every  part  of 
the  country.  A  great  preacher  had  come  out  of  the 
wilderness  and  out  of  his  hidden  life.  He  was  strangely 
dressed,  just  a  rough  camel's  hair  cloak,  and  girdle  of 
leather  to  hold  it  about  him.  He  had  been  living  a  long 
time  among  the  caves  and  the  hills.  He  had  eaten 
locusts  and  wild  honey.  But  he  was  God's  servant. 
God  was  looking  after  him  and  preparing  him  for  a 
great  service — the  greatest  work  anybody  could  do. 
Every  one  savs  so  who  reads  the  story  to  its  end.     He 

77 


78  Zhc  Boi?  3e9U0 

must  have  seemed  very  strange  with  his  long  hair  and 
long  beard  and  stern  look.  He  was  a  true  hero  and  did 
not  fear  any  one  or  anything.  He  was  only  anxious  to 
serve  God  in  the  highest  way.  With  his  courageous 
and  earnest  look  there  were  gentleness  and  love 
mingled.  The  people  were  not  driven  away  from  him. 
They  were  drawn  toward  him.  They  saw  his  noble 
purpose  and  were  anxious  to  hear  his  last  word.  His 
preaching  was  all  against  their  sin,  and  then  he  called 
them  to  repentance  and  to  God.  The  crowds  pushed 
their  way  toward  him  through  the  bushes  and  the 
hedges  and  over  the  rocks  and  pebbles.  The  river  was 
only  a  narrow  stream,  but  it  carried  all  the  water  from 
the  large  lake  of  Galilee  down  into  the  Dead  Sea.  It 
had  to  run  with  swiftness  and  dash  its  way  over  the 
stones  and  every  obstruction  and  whirl  around  the 
corners.  Sometimes  it  plunged  down  and  on  as  if  it 
was  mad,  all  white  with  foam.  The  bank  of  this  river 
was  the  pulpit  for  this  strange  minister.  Just  where 
there  was  a  bend  in  the  river  and  the  water  was  quiet, 
he  called  them  to  him  and  told  them  that  God  asked 
them  to  show  their  repentance  and  love  for  him  by 
coming  down  into  the  water  and  being  baptized. 

One  day  while  he  stood  there  in  the  center  of  the 
thousands  of  people,  he  suddenly  stopped  preaching. 
There  was  a  moment  of  startling  silence!  John,  the 
great  preacher,  turned  and  looked  intently  in  one  di- 
rection.   Then  he  solemnly  raised  his  eyes  heavenward 


''ZTbts  i0  m^  Beloveb  Son*'        79 

as  if  in  gratitude  for  the  discovery.  Sometime  after- 
ward he  looked  again  at  this  one  who  was  coming 
toward  him.  He  pointed  to  him  and  called  to  all 
the  people  to  listen  and  to  look.  Then  he  said,  "  Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of 
the  world  "  !  It  was  Jesus !  But  John  had  been  expect- 
ing him  and  he  knew  him;  some  angel  must  have 
come  and  whispered  to  him  "  This  is  the  One.  He 
is  the  long-looked-for  Saviour  of  the  world.  This 
is  the  Son  of  God,  and  this  is  the  way  for  the  world 
to  know  him."  How  surprised  and  breathless  they  all 
must  have  been  as  their  eyes  were  turned  upon  Jesus. 
His  form  and  face  and  a  something  beyond  explanation 
told  them  at  least  a  part  of  the  truth.  When  Jesus 
reached  the  side  of  John  he  said  that  he  had  come  to 
be  baptized  too.  John  hesitated  a  moment  and  then  re- 
plied that  that  could  not  be,  because  he  himself  should 
be  baptized  by  Jesus.  But  Jesus  knew  what  was  best 
and  what  was  the  will  of  God  for  that  important  hour 
in  his  life.  Then  he  said  it  must  be.  It  was  necessary. 
This  was  the  sign  of  his  saving  work  in  the  world. 
Everybody  was  still  as  death  and  getting  anxious  to 
know  who  he  was,  and  to  know  more  of  the  meaning 
of  this  new  turn  in  those  days  of  John's  preaching  and 
power. 

John  reverently  took  hold  of  the  hand  of  Jesus,  and 
together  they  stepped  upon  the  stony  shore  and  the 
music  of  the  rippling  waves  was  made  sweeter.    When 


8o  ^be  Boi?  3e6U0 

they  slowly  walked  down  into  the  river,  with  every 
eye  on  them,  the  angels  were  at  the  windows  of 
heaven.  What  a  holy  hour  in  this  world's  life  that 
was.  Never  had  angels  or  men  seen  anything  like 
that.  Possibly  the  starry  worlds  stopped  for  just  a 
minute.  There  must  have  been  silence  everywhere 
while  John  prayed  and  then  baptized  Jesus. 

Now  comes  the  strangest,  most  wonderful  part  of 
it  all.  There  was  an  opening  made  in  the  heavens,  and 
something  that  looked  to  the  people  like  a  dove  came 
and  rested  just  above  the  head  of  Jesus.  It  was  the 
symbol  of  the  blessing  of  God,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  his  life.  But  this  was  not  enough  yet.  They  heard 
a  voice  from  heaven  which  said,  "  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  This  was  the  an- 
nouncement that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  He  had  lived  the  years  of  his 
boy  life,  and  into  his  young  manhood  in  such  truth  and 
nobility  that  God  could  tell  the  world  "  He  is  worthy. 
I  am  well  pleased  in  him."  The  boy  life  was  a  part 
of  the  plan  for  his  whole  life,  and  he  lived  it  so  as  to 
perfectly  please  Jiis  Father  in  heaven. 

Every  boy  should  strive  to  make  his  life  fit  in  God's 
plan  so  that  he  too  could  hear  the  voice  from  heaven, 
"  This  is  my  boy,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." 


Date  Due 

m  29  '4 

5 

f) 

-     1 

■1 

